My Garden "Secret" (Why you need a Resurrection Garden too!)

My beloved spoke, and said to me: “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.  For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone.  The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land.” (Song of Solomon 2:10-12)

Hey Y’all,

Years ago, as a young, tired, and sometimes overwhelmed mom, what a treat it was to attend a wonderfully inspiring ladies’ Bible study, on Thursday mornings.  The Bible study teacher, Mrs. Mardi Bass, was such an encouragement to me and she was also a great source of Godly “mom-wisdom”!  Her creative spirit was so evident in how she appointed her home.  It was always so beautiful and inviting (she was an interior designer by trade) and she also had a very green thumb.

Each Thursday morning, as I excitedly approached her door, I was taken back by the beauty of her gardens.  The areas on both sides of the walkway to her front entry, were lined with bulbs and blossoms.  They provided the most pleasant approach to the porch, which was also always complete with seasonal blooming window boxes.  Aahh…I can just see it now in my memory. Such a sweet visual picture in my mind, like a painting, but with accompanying fragrances to match! This little spot in her yard was special.  I just didn’t know how special, until she shared the secret.  It was a “Resurrection Garden”!

As a gardener myself, now for over thirty years, I have always treasured the gift of plants, bulbs, and seeds shared from friends, relatives, and even strangers.  Most gardeners feel the same way.  If you love to propagate, tend, and grow things, there is no better gift than a new plant to attempt to grow!  So, when Mrs. Mardi told us about the secret of the “Resurrection Garden”, I knew right away that I wanted one of my own!

You see, each year in the spring, as you most likely know, flowers like daffodils, irises, lilies, hyacinths, amaryllis, etc. pop up out of the ground from seemingly nowhere.  The previous year, they died back into oblivion, only to be forgotten during the long, hot summer and the cold, and dark winter.

For all practical purposes, if you did not know better, you would think that they were dead.  There is absolutely no sign of life, while they are silent, in their winter “grave”.  But, Oh, how alive they are!  The beauty of their colors, patterns, and fragrances are just waiting to bless us again in the spring.  When the first of the warm sunny days begin to heat the soil, they waken.  When the light begins to pierce the grains of soil with the initial sunshine of spring, they begin to crack the ground and burst forth.

The secret that the “Resurrection Garden” holds, is that it conveys the perfect symbolism of the breaking forth of new life, from what appeared to be “death”.  In the spring, as our hearts begin to ponder the painfully beautiful story of our Christ, and the sacrifice that he made for us, new life holds precious meaning!  The bulbs in the garden use the majesty of creation to convey the truth of the empty tomb!  He was dead!  But HE AROSE!  Jesus conquered the darkness of the grave.  The unimaginable weight of our sins… the sins of all mankind, they were not heavy enough to hold him!

What better way to teach your children the truth of the Easter story than by placing the dry, brown, dead looking bulb into the garden, and have them see the new life that will burst forth in the spring, just in time for Easter?  It is a beautiful reminder for adults as well.  I, actually, get emotional each year when the blooms come!  It is so amazing that the glory of God’s creation continually speaks to His redemptive and regenerative power!  His story is told through all the things that He spoke into existence in the very beginning of the creation story!

Does this sound like something that you would like to try to create for your garden?  It is really a very easy thing to do.  Bulbs are perfect for the novice gardener to attempt.  Just soil, an empty spot in your yard, and a little time is all that is required for you to have your own “Resurrection Garden”.

I promise that you will be so exceedingly happy in the spring when see the glorious beauty that pops up out of the ground to speak to you and your family of what our Savior did for us at Easter.  Your eyes will well up with tears, like mine, when you have this visual reminder of the beauty of God’s redemptive plan for his children. For us!  His bride! So, plant one, my friends!  You can thank me next year…and thank the Creator and Savior most of all for his Easter gift!

Happy Spring!

Have a most blessed Easter!

Sharon at Southern Bella Home