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The folks at Mann’s Lawn and Landscaping, Moffet Nursery and Garden Shop and Knee Deep in June are three of the many local businesses gearing up to help gardeners and homeowners seeking to add variety to their yards and gardens.

For those who like hot, hot peppers, Mann’s and Moffet’s have a new variety that’s supposed to be akin to fire when bitten into.

“It’s called the Ghost Pepper and it will be the hottest pepper until someone develops the next latest and greatest pepper for next year,” says Krystin Kleinlein, an herbaceous specialist at Moffet’s.

For those who like tomatoes, Moffett’s recommends the new “Sweet Seedless” tomato. “It has more meat, less pulp and no seeds, Mrs. Kleinlein says.

Knee Deep in June cultivates its yards with hellebore and pulmonaria. They’re plants for those who want to see blooms in early spring.

The pulmonaria generally have pink, purple, lavender and white flowers, but the foliage is nice all year long, and they are good companion plants to go with other varieties, says Bev Hoyt, one of Knee Deep’s owners.

Mann’s and Moffet’s say the annual that everyone seems to like is petunias, and there are lots of new colors.

Moffet’s “rose man” Charles Anctil says roses are easy to maintain and hearty. He recommends drift roses. But if a drift rose isn’t the right thing, he says there are 55,000 registered rose varieties, and Moffet’s has between 1,500 and 2,000 different ones.

“Roses aren’t as hard to take care of as people think,” Mr. Anctil says.

Nicole Armendariz, Moffet’s landscape design specialist, recommends two trees — Dragon Eye Pine and Waterlily Magnolia with its white star flowers. The pine tree’s long soft needles have green and yellow stripes, Ms. Armendariz says.

Oaks and maples are still recommended, says Lisa Potter, Mann’s greenhouse manager.

A visit to Knee Deep, 16th and Boyd streets, in May will give visitors a chance to see sun-loving iris and shade-loving hostas. Both plants are low-maintenance.

After 30 years of hybridizing, the iris Lydia Safen Swiastyn is really getting interesting with its gold and purple colors, says Mitch Jamison, a Knee Deep owner.

Moffet’s (located on Missouri Highway 6 east on Frederick Boulevard) will have vessels for container gardens, and Mann’s (located on north U.S. 169 in Andrew County) will have a variety of specialty products for walls and other landscaping projects.

Stores all along the Belt Highway will be gearing up in the coming weeks with sales for homeowners looking to start new gardens or landscaping projects.

It would make sense that in a region not unfamiliar with drought and dry conditions, an increasingly popular landscaping and gardening practice known as xeriscaping would find its birth.

In 1981, a Denver water employee coined the term xeriscape, a portmanteau of xeros — (Greek for “dry”) — and landscaping, to describe landscaping and gardening that reduces or eliminates the need for supplemental water from irrigation. Long promoted in regions that do not have easily accessible, plentiful, or reliable supplies of fresh water, xeriscaping is gaining acceptance in other areas as water becomes more limiting.

So, in addition to conservation of water, what are the benefits of xeriscaping?

Provides tremendous color, variety and beauty, even in winter.

Gives you more time to enjoy your yard because it needs less watering, mowing, fertilizing and weeding.

Xeriscape plants in appropriate planting design, and soil grading and mulching take full advantage of rainfall retention.

If water restrictions are ever implemented, xeriscape plants tend to survive and thrive, while more ornamental plants may be unable to adapt.

Saves a lot of money.

Availability of options. There are a number of plants that work well in xeriscape gardens, such as Fernbush, Agastache, Panchito Manzanita, Yarrow, Spanish Gold Broom, Catmint, Sage, Japanese Barberry, Juniper, Potentilla, Ice Plant, Lilac and Pampas Grass, to name but a few.

Additionally, natural stone is one of the most versatile elements available for a landscape makeover. Rocks add texture and contrast, serve as a durable groundcover and require little or no maintenance. Wood chips and bark often are used, either alone or to complement.

The rocks you select will help set the tone for your entire layout. For example, tawny beach pebbles or river rocks add warmth, while white marble chips help brighten up shady areas. Flat terracotta stones complement a tropical landscape, but can seem out of place in a more formal garden.

For a minimalist modern landscape or Polynesian-themed garden, black lava rocks are excellent.

Randall Tierney, of American Pride Landscaping of Pueblo West, took some time to reflect on the changes landscaping in Southern Colorado has undergone over the past 50 years.

“Dramatically,” Tierney said of changes in the industry and process.

“Typically, upon building a home or business, the owner would commonly plant a few trees, plant grass seed and surround the sides of their building with some plants and bushes, often doing the work themselves,” Tierney said.

Many a homeowner found out that improving the exterior of a property was a great deal of work that added tremendous value to the property. “So persons began specializing in the various tasks required to install landscape materials. The benefits to the homeowner were many. They were able to enjoy the improvements to the property surrounding their homes in a matter of weeks or even days as opposed to small improvements the homeowner would make during the evenings or weekends when they were not at work,” Tierney said.

Through time, landscapers learned what plants, bushes, shrubs, trees and grasses were best suited to the local climate. The homeowner benefited not only from this knowledge but by the efforts of a dedicated landscaper, who ensured that plants were installed in a sustainable manner which allowed them to thrive year after year.

Noted Tierney, “A major change in Southwest Colorado came in the 1960s, when John Verna introduced using stones as focal points of landscape design. Use of stones eventually evolved in the process of xeriscaping.

“Essentially, John Verna began xeriscaping 20 years before it was given a name,” Tierney added. “The use of natural stone to enhance the beauty of a landscape seemed a normal step for Colorado, where we daily admire the beauty of the Rocky Mountains.”

Landscaping with stone took off and became the centerpiece of Verna’s landscaping business. “John worked at it all of his career and now it has become the cornerstone of the business carried on since the mid-1990s by his son, Kevin Verna, through American Pride Landscape — on the same property his father ran his business on in Pueblo West,” Tierney said.

The company makes much use of Breeze such as Canon Granite, Western Sunset and Byzantine, which comes in a variety of colors, is very compactible and makes for a very firm, stable surface. It is easy to maintain and it doesn’t blow away in the wind.

“Everyone can contribute to the welfare of our environment and the conservation of water by simply using xeriscaping techniques to enhance the beauty of their properties and save money to boot,” said Tierney.

• J.R. Ortega •
• Originally published April 23, 2014 at 6:54 p.m., updated April 24, 2014 at 12:14 a.m.

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• IF YOU GO

• • WHAT: Victoria Garden Tour

  • WHEN: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday

  • WHERE: Seven gardens in Victoria

  •  COST: $15 for all gardens; tickets can be purchased at Earthworks Nursery, 102 E. Airline Road; Devereux Gardens, 1313 N. Navarro …

• SHOW ALL »

IF YOU GO

• WHAT: Victoria Garden Tour

• WHEN: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday

• WHERE: Seven gardens in Victoria

•  COST: $15 for all gardens; tickets can be purchased at Earthworks Nursery, 102 E. Airline Road; Devereux Gardens, 1313 N. Navarro St.; and Texas AM AgriLife Extension, 528 Waco Circle. Tickets may also be purchased from any Master Gardener by calling the Victoria County Extension office at 361-575-4581.

• On the tour

• Jim and Ginger Fagan’s garden

  John and Marcia Kauffman’s garden

  Donna Shafer’s garden

  Mike Best’s garden

  Mrs. Frank S. Buhler, Jr.’s garden

  Bobby and Jan Jacob’s garden

  George and Blanche Charkalis’ garden

Every day is an escape for Jan and Bobby Jacob.

The couple lounges in their backyard, cradled by a garden 30 years in the making.

Their garden – in the Country Club area of Victoria – is more than just plants, landscaping and flowers; it’s a sanctum for their memories.

Irises nearly in full bloom speckle the greenery with a vibrant purple and are the same cuttings from Jan Jacob’s grandmother’s garden.

“I have stuff that reminds us of family,” she said, adding that the drift roses remind her husband of his mother’s rose garden and the geraniums in the backyard remind her of her mother’s green thumb.

The Jacobs’ home is one of seven gardens on the Victoria County Master Gardener Association’s garden tour Saturday and Sunday.

This is the couple’s first year on the tour, although both have been spectators on the tour in the past.

Now their outdoor oasis will be seen by Crossroads residents.

The garden, which takes up the perimeter and side backyard of the home, was no easy task.

It’s all about trial and error, the two said.

“We wanted to plant something to hide the fence,” Jan Jacob said, laughing at how the idea started when they first built the home.

The couple’s first home on Goliad Highway was not fenced in, so living with a fence was difficult, she added.

Jan Jacob said she imagined the garden becoming as big as it is now, but it has changed a lot over the years, especially in the past five years.

South Texas winters have been rough, especially a winter three years ago when back-to-back overnight freezes killed several of her plants and flowers.

“After that freeze, we drove all over town to see what wouldn’t freeze,” she said.

Seeing other gardens, they began to change their garden to include plantings that could survive freezes, such as magnolias and Japanese blueberries.

She still has one plant, a variegated ginger, one of her favorites, that is prone to freezing. She has to make sure to cover it when the winter turns bitter cold.

“It has to not freeze for three years for it to bloom,” she said. “If it freezes, then it’s like you’re back at year one.”

The backyard came full circle several years ago when the couple had an outdoor kitchen built. This now serves as a centerpiece, bringing together the entire landscape.

The garden helps bring together their love for gardening and birds. The garden is often visited by hummingbirds, and most recently, some summer tanagers.

“This time of the year is the best time of the year to do something in the outdoor kitchen,” Bobby Jacob said. “Neighbors and friends like to come over, and they like to see the birds and the yards. It’s just a fun place to be.”

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By Carrie Napoleon
Post-Tribune correspondent

April 24, 2014 7:38PM

A water feature created by Cutters Edge is one of the many displays features in The Waterscape Weekend in Crown Point on April 23, 2014. | Jim KarczewskiFor Sun-Times Media

If you go

WHAT: Illiana Garden Pond Society spring showcase “Color Your World”

WHERE: Lake County Fairgrounds Industrial Arts Building, Crown Point

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

COST: Adults $5; children 15 and younger free

Article Extras

Updated: April 25, 2014 2:06AM

CROWN POINT — Workers stayed busy this week moving massive quantities of stone, paver blocks, mulch and plants to transform the Industrial Arts Building at the Lake County Fairgrounds into a landscaping paradise.

The behind-the-scenes effort a week in the making is designed to provide a little springtime inspiration to visitors to the 13th annual Illiana Garden Pond Society spring showcase Saturday and Sunday.

Co-chairwomen Kathy Bartley and Betsy Shurke were standing watch over the mammoth effort that began Monday and will be complete by Friday morning when smaller vendors peddling everything from pond fish to painted stones set up their booths for the garden show extravaganza.

“We have landscaping in every corner of the building to entice people into designing their own backyards,” Bartley said.

This year, 58 vendors including eight new sellers will pack the building for the weekend event that is expected to draw close to 3,000 visitors.

“We will have water features in every corner of the building,” she said.

Doug Molchan, owner of South County Landscaping in Crown Point, was busy with his business’s elaborate display shared with Alsip Home Nursery of St. John. Together the two businesses take over the entire north wing of the building in what has become the shows largest display.

It will take his staff about 1,000 man hours to transform 12 pallets of Unilock pavers, 500 to 600 plants, 10 tons of boulders, three tons of gravel and 80 to 100 yards of mulch along with a variety of other garden supplies into the completed display that shows off options for outdoor landscaping and decor.

This year’s display includes a Hobbit tunnel for children, 10 different water features, an outdoor fireplace and sitting area, gazebo and a variety of the latest trend — fairy gardens.

“Every year we try to change it up,” Molchan said. This is his 10th year participating in the show.

The goal is to make the display seem as if it has always been there, he said. Benches will provide spots for visitors to sit and enjoy the scenery, which features two waterfalls and a brightly colored crayon fountain in keeping with this year’s show theme, “Color Your World.”

Lots of colorful annuals and perennials will brighten the hardscape. The setup may seem elaborate, Molchan said, but it is designed in a way that any homeowner could implement the features into their own yards. Everything seen in the displays is for sale.

“Nothing is going overboard. You don’t have to have a big yard to do this,” he said.

Gardening and landscaping involves planning before getting your hands in the soil.

Last week’s column, which was about renovating a garden, recommended four preparatory actions:

1 Draw a diagram of the property.

2 Decide on basic design concepts.

3 Establish objectives for the finished landscape.

4 Set priorities for development.

Once the gardener has completed those actions, he or she still has additional tasks to complete. Those tasks are the focus of this week’s column.

Remove unwanted plants A neglected garden probably motivated the landscape renovation project. Neglect often includes trees and woody shrubs that have outgrown their space, lack a role in the new design or are unhealthy. In some cases, this task will require contracting with an arborist or laborers. Check local ordinances before removing trees.

All herbaceous plants that are unwanted are defined as weeds. These include garden plants and grasses as well as common weeds. Pull or dig larger plants, then remove grasses and weeds efficiently with chemical-free solarization. This method covers the target area with clear plastic so the sun raises the temperature of the soil, killing weeds, pathogens, nematodes and insects. For details, see the University of California’s free publication “Soil Solarization for Gardens Landscapes,” available at www.ipm.ucdavis.edu (search for Pest Notes 747145).

Removing weed plants with a do-it-yourself approach could be time-consuming and frustrating. Consider contracted services to get the job done quickly and thoroughly.

Remove unwanted hardscape If your garden includes paving, e.g., sidewalk, patio, walls or outbuildings that are not included in the new design, remove them to free your progress. Again, consider contracted services to speed the work. This would be a good time to invite a disinterested friend to comment on your garden accessory collection, and to remove items that are no longer assets.

Analyze soil structure The gardener should know the structure of the garden’s soil. An ideal soil would have 45 percent minerals (sand, clay, silt), 5 percent organic material (plant and animal), 25 percent air and 25 percent water.

There are various combinations of sand, clay and silt that might be found in a garden. The mineral content of ideal garden soil, called loam, should be about 40 percent sand, 40 percent silt and 20 percent clay. For a simple method to analyze your garden’s soil texture, visit ucanr.edu and search for “Garden Good Guys — Soil.”

Notice that these preparations do not include buying plants! For many gardeners, the primary strategy for improving the landscape is to buy plants. That approach, without an overall plan, weakens the landscape design and wastes time and money.

Tom Karwin is a UC Master Gardener and vice president of the Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum. He gardens in Santa Cruz. Send feedback to gardening@karwin.com. Visit ongardening.com for more on garden renovation.

Although St. Helena has lifted its emergency water-use restrictions, the need to save water and reduce and cut water costs continues.

And, according to a Napa Valley landscaper who specializes in reducing water use and preventing leaks, conservation can be achieved easily and inexpensively.

Ben Penning, operations manager for Lou Penning Landscapes, offers several tips for home gardeners:

• Install a “smart” irrigation controller. “Smart irrigation controllers take daily weather readings and adjust your controller every day,” said Penning. “They will also turn your irrigation system off when it is raining and turn it back on when the sun comes back out. The City of St. Helena has a rebate for a smart irrigation controller.”

• Convert all overhead spray irrigation to drip irrigation. “Drip systems are much more efficient than sprays,” he said. “In some cases drip irrigation can reduce your water use by 75 percent.”

• Spread 2 to 3 inches of mulch. Penning said, “A thick layer of mulch will help keep moisture in the soil and prevent weed growth. Mulch gives your garden a fresh, new look and with many different types to choose from you can customize your garden and make it your own.”

• Install a separate water meter on the irrigation mainline. “This way we will know exactly how much water your landscape is using compared to your house. Also if there is a leak somewhere on the property, we can tell right away if it is inside, or in the landscape,” he added.

• Develop a water budget for your landscape. “Watering your landscape can be a bear to figure out and program perfectly. Let us show you how.”

• Set up a rainwater harvesting system. “Rainwater harvesting is not a new invention. People have been doing it for thousands of years on a small scale. It is possible to capture the rain off your roof and use it in your landscape, no matter what size roof or yard you have.”

• Set up a grey water system. California recently relaxed laws on using “grey water” from you house in your landscape. No, this doesn’t mean toilet water, it is water from your shower and clothes washer you can safely use in your landscape to water your thirsty plants,” Penning said.

• Install a master valve on your irrigation system. “Irrigation systems can leak or fail in many different ways,” said Penning. “The only way to ensure your irrigation system is not leaking when the system is not running is to install a master valve that will allow water to pass only when the irrigation controller is watering a valve.”

Lou Penning Landscapes has been tracking residential water use in St. Helena for the past four years. “We are irrigation experts, accredited by the Irrigation Association and certified with the Bay Friendly Coalition,” said Penning.

He invited residents to attend a Bay Friendly Garden Tour on Sunday, April 27, featuring 12 low-water-use and watershed-friendly landscapes, from Napa to Calistoga.

The 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tour will include six gardens in Napa and six gardens between Yountville and Calistoga, including drought-tolerant gardens with habitat, heritage oaks, chickens, honeybees, composting, orchards, vegetable beds, lawn-free entertaining spaces, rain barrels and information about “Beat the Drought” workshops.

Two of the gardens scheduled to be featured on the tour were installed by Lou Penning Landscapes and were designed by Kellie Carlin Landscape Design of St. Helena.

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at bayfriendlygardentour.brownpapertickets.com or at the Resource Conservation District office, 1303 Jefferson St., Suite 500 B in Napa. On the day of the tour tickets can be purchased at 10 a.m. at the Yountville Community Center. Details are available from Frances Knapczyk at 252-4188, ext. 116, or Penning at 732-6457.

Gardeners in the Chippewa Valley have a large number of choices when selecting perennial plants for their flower gardens and landscapes.

Sometimes the selection of these plants can cause the gardener strife as many are not tolerant of our winter cold or worse, they become invasive.

A solution to the agony of watching the latest and greatest perennial suffer winter kill or invade your landscape is to use native plants.

Native plants are plants that are indigenous to a particular region. For Wisconsin, native plants are defined as those present in an area prior to European settlement. Native plants will vary from county to county, state to state, and region to region. For example, even though big bluestem is native to WI and it grows in our area, it is not native to the Chippewa Valley. As is the case with dandelion, it was introduced by the European settlers because they thought it was pretty.

Native plants are a great selection for landscapes and gardens because they have stood the test of time and require very little maintenance. These plants have been exposed to harsh winters, extreme drought, occasional flooding, and consistent pestilence, and continue to survive. Once established, these plants seldom need watering, mulching, protection from frost, or continuous mowing. Native plants provide nectar, pollen, and seeds that serve as food for native butterflies, birds, and other animals. In contrast, many introduced horticultural plants do not produce nectar and require insect and disease control to survive.

Not only do native plants require less maintenance, but they also protect the local landscape from soil erosion, increase water infiltration and slow water runoff, and improve soil structure. How do they do it? The answer is in their roots. Many native plants have root systems that go deep into the soil profile. On average, only one-third of a native plants’ biomass is above ground. This allows natives to survive drought, temperature extremes, and pests. Because of their deep root systems, these root systems store abundant food for the plant so it can survive above ground environmental extremes.

Using native plants in the local landscape is a great way to bring a natural look to anyone’s backyard. Native plants can be used for foundation plantings and area plantings, and are the best choice for rain gardens. Native plantings have an interesting uniqueness about them so there are a few planting tips to keep in mind.

Native plants, whether grasses, forbs, shrubs, or trees, all require a specific site to grow best. Make sure the soil type, sunlight requirements, and moisture needs are met for the native plants selected. For example, cupplant grows best in moist to wet conditions whereas rough blazing star prefers a dryer location. If planning a rain garden, it is best to select natives that grow in a wide range of moisture conditions in case dry weather persists.

Remember to keep your native planting looking natural. Native plantings should be irregular with rounded corners and a wide selection of plants. It is best to think random when using native plants. Natives are generally used in non-formal landscaping but can be used formally. Also, remember to plant to size. Large plants look out of place in a small area. Large, taller grasses, forbs and shrubs can be used if the planting approaches a woods or fence. This is great way to transition from an urban setting to a native landscape.

The cost of establishing native plants is generally less over time than using introduced horticultural plants. The initial cost of native plant seed or plugs is higher but since natives are hardier and are true perennials, the need for replanting or renovation is nearly non-existent. Some forbs or wildflower seed can cost as much as $80/ounce. A native planting should be looked at as a long-term investment.

Native plants usually take longer to establish and do not look great initially. Prairie plants especially take the first few years establishing a strong root system. Weeding of the native planting is needed the first two years but after that very little maintenance is required.

Native plantings can be started with seeds or with plant plugs. In either case, grass plants comprise more than half of the natural prairie groundcover so they should comprise of half the planting. Forbs should make up the other 50% of the planting. A good rule is to use 6-10 grass species, like junegrass or woolgrass, and 30-40 flowering forbs. The best time to plant natives is from May 20-June 20. Most natives are warm season plants so the soil temperature should be above 60°F at planting time.

One of the most popular activites of the the Leesburg Flower Garden Festival is marveling at the creative genius of the various landscapers, who have built garden designs to show customers just what they could achieve, with the right ideas, materials and focus.

It takes a huge amount of planning and work—and expense—throughout the year to come up with the perfect design, a fact that’s often lost on vistors as they survey the finished products.

Last year, people marveled over Jason Dengler’s “take-you-back-to-the-farm” charming chicken house, complete with live chickens, surrounded by a tiny garden. Dengler and his Wildwood Landscape team won Best Overall Presentation, with the judges and public alike agreeing the chickens stole the show.

Dengler, for whom this will be the seventh year of the landscape contest, has placed in the top three each year. He’s won four times and also the People’s Choice award several times.

Last year’s award for Outstanding Technical Craftsmanship went to West Winds Nursery, from Sudley Springs. The Outstanding Creativity Award went to River’s Edge Landscape, of Bluemont, for its sophisticated and elegant display. The company also won the People’s Choice award, in which the public decides to whom it will award the palm.

For many, the landscape design exhibit is the focal point of the festival and a source of visual pleasure as well as a mine of information, ideas and practical advice on how to design a garden, how to intersperse different plans, shrubs and trees and how to blend them in a harmonious whole with water and hardscape features, such as fountains, pools, trellises, gazebos and stone walls.

For the landscaping team, the effort and expense pays off in the exposure to some 40,000 people and resulting orders down the road.

An added side attraction—at least for downtown residents of Leesburg, is watching the gardens slowly emerge from bare pavement.

“It’s the best free show on earth,” according to one resident, who in previous years watched the evolving sight.

When the landscapers first move in at 6 p.m. Friday night, the intersection of King and Market streets is filled with fork lifts, dump trucks, piles of dirt, sand, mulch, stone and brick, various trees and shrubs and hoses snaking across the tarmac.

But then, slowly, order begins to emerge. First, the outlines of the garden appear—a dry stone wall rises from the pavement, a huge boulder is levered onto a corner of the garden, or a gazebo is lowered carefully onto the small plot, and a large tree positioned near it with its branches drooping over. Maybe a fountain is placed in the center of the plot. High walls, maybe ivy or wisteria covered, suddenly emerge, and slowly the garden takes shape. A wrought-iron or wooden bench appears—destined to be sunk down onto gratefully the following days by weary festival goers.

Finally, the plant materials are set in place—colorful bulbs peeping out from shrubs and trees—and covered with a pungent smelling blanket of mulch. A last water, and the weary team members wrap it up and call it a day—a long day, that in many cases last well into the night.

The next day, landscapers are on duty at their exhibits, patiently answering the questions by the public, who get a great free horticultural design education.

Doug Fulcher has taken over management of the design competition this year. Awards will be given for Best Overall Presentation; Outstanding Technical Craftsmanship; and Outstanding Creativity.

The cash award of $750 for Best Overall Presentation is given to the landscaper whose garden has scored the highest number of criteria points as determined by the judges’ site visits and discussions.

The Outstanding Technical Craftsmanship award of $500 goes to the exhibitor whose garden shows the finest quality of materials and workmanship as defined by the criteria.

The Outstanding Creativity award, also worth $500, is given to the landscaper whose garden exhibits the most originality and features elements that are unique, provide human interest or humor, and/or convey an identifiable mood or theme as defined by the criteria. Entrants may only win one of the three landscape awards.

Judging happens Saturday morning and the results are posted at the main entertainment stage in the early afternoon. The popular People’s Choice, in which the public gets to agree, or more frequently, disagree, with the judges’ verdict, is posted on Sunday morning.

By Bill Wilson

In recent years, I’ve been giving a good deal of thought to metaphors that communicate clearly what a healthy church or minister is like. There are many of them, but the one that I keep returning to is that of the garden. As a gardener who finds personal renewal and energy in the rhythm and mystery of gardening and landscaping, I am drawn to this mindset as I engage congregations and clergy. I come from a long line of gardeners and ministers, and find the overlap more than coincidence.

The garden is a powerful biblical theme that resonates deeply with me and with the way I approach ministry.

Over the course of three consecutive columns, I want to explore some of the ways I believe this metaphor is critical to the future of all of us.

From beginning —“The Lord planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he formed.” (Gen 2:8) — to end —“On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Rev. 22:2) — the Bible speaks of gardens, gardeners and growing things.

Jesus taught many lessons involving plants, growth, agriculture and gardening. He invoked images of fig trees, soils, sowers, seeds, fruit, mustard seeds and vineyards to drive home his teachings.

There are profound implications for us from the world of gardens, gardeners and plants as we seek to bring hope, help and healing to churches and clergy in the spirit of Christ.

THE GARDEN

Seasons

The power of the seasons is never far from the mind of the gardener. At the heart of any issue or project in the garden lies a central question: what season is it? No season is unimportant, and each season is indispensible for a healthy garden.

We are currently enjoying the new life of spring after an especially intense winter. The wise gardener knows that spring will soon fade into summer, and prepares accordingly. Understanding the life cycle of a garden is critical to creating and sustaining a healthy growing environment.

In churches, our lack of understanding of life cycle seasons may blind us to deeper causes than what the prevailing symptoms may suggest. Congregational life cycles are undeniable. Proactive renewal and re-imagining take place when leadership recognizes the need for innovation and a fresh vision for ministry.

Just as a gardener knows the symptoms of decline, decay, renewal and new growth in the garden, so too the congregation leader keeps one eye on today and one eye on tomorrow. Healthy churches know to anticipate and plan for what is coming, not to simply live in the moment.

Good soil

Healthy soil is a prerequisite to healthy plants. Gardeners spend much energy and expense amending and improving the soil of their gardens. Doing so creates an environment conducive to vibrant growth.

Plants and gardens need food to survive. Light, water, nourishment and nutrients combine to provide the building blocks of growth for a plant or garden. Churches that thrive are constantly seeking ways to feed spiritual truth and insight to people. Using a wide array of learning vehicles, combined with sensitivity to learning styles, they constantly innovate and create rich learning and growth opportunities for their communities.

Healthy churches know that sustainable Christians and churches require deep, rich soil. The parable of the sower reminds us of the folly of expecting rocky or shallow soil to produce mature believers. Many churches need to consider what it would look like to think about going “deeper” and not simply “wider” in their approach to ministry.

Setting

Context matters. Plants that may thrive in a rain forest die quickly in the desert, and vice versa. Each plant adapts to its environment and either finds a way to survive and thrive, or it must be moved to a setting more aligned with its DNA. The wise gardener knows to pay attention to climate zones, sun and shade tolerance, water requirements, etc.

While some aspects of gardening are transferable to any setting, most gardens must be custom-designed to their context.

Healthy churches are students of their setting and context. They understand that their unique location and culture is a defining component of their ministry. Ignoring it is inviting disaster.

Ministry has common components no matter where it takes place. However, there are methods and approaches that are germane to your city, county, neighborhood or region that differentiate you from all other congregations. Learning those distinctives and deliberately building a congregation that is congruent with them is essential for long-term health.

Next week: The gardener