All Things Amish–Gardening, part 3

March and gardening seems like a real possibility now. Right?

This is one of my favorite pictures from my visits to Amish farms. There’s a LOT in this picture–there’s an entire story in this picture. I’ll even admit that THIS picture was the inspiration for Esther’s garden in my Shipshewana series. Isn’t the giant ball of barbed wire lovely? I never would have thought of doing that. It’s so playful.

What I wanted to draw your attention to though was the sign on the pole–it says “In Loving Memory, Dena” and lists the dates of Dena’s life. This surprised me a little. I’m not sure why. My image of the Amish was that when someone died, they accepted the death and moved on–emotionally. This picture shows that they still remember, they experience loss the same way we do, and sometimes they even tend a garden in memory of someone. What a beautiful tribute!

I adore this garden. I would love to spend hours here. More than anything, to me a garden is somewhere that soothes the soul. It might also provide nourishment for the stomach. : )

Have you found any good ideas for your garden? Large or small, it can be somewhere that eases your worries, provides you time to relax, time to pray, and time to appreciate the good things God has given us. 

~V

p.s. – Yesterday Zondervan made a major contest announcement on my Facebook page. If you haven’t seen it, click on the Facebook button to the right and check it out!