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                                               Intro Mary Garden

Providence And The Gardener

Gardening as a prayerful, religious and prudent work

Edward A. G. McTague


Providence

     In the garden one sees the total ordering of life to God.
Forms of soil life such as fungi, algae, bacteria, and earth
worms cooperate so that leaves and cuttings, animal droppings, and
other plant and animal residues are transformed into substances
which sustain plant life.  Directly, or indirectly through animals,
plant life provides sustenance for life in man, who is called to
incorporation in the supernatural life of the Mystical Body of
Christ, the Church.

The Gardener

     Gardening, properly understood, is a work of stewardship for
the riches and artistry bestowed upon us by our loving and
provident Creator.  Therein lies its true dignity and meaning.

     Seeds, plants and blossoms are of God's established order.
With true understanding of, and humble submission to, the principles
of that order, the gardener can tend his garden with confidence,
peace and joy.

Plant Life and its Cycle

     The gardener first gains understanding of God's ordering of
nature.  He then orders his or her own garden in the light of that
understanding, directing the work to the garden itself and to the
greater glory of God.

     As plants die to replenish the soil, or are consumed, or used
by animals and man, their life is perpetuated in a dormant state by
seeds.  These awaken and send out new roots and shoots when they
receive moisture from the surrounding soil and when they have a
certain temperature - sometimes with the help of light.  As the
spring days warm up, the proper temperatures for plant growth
normally follow those at which seeds begin to sprout.

     Once roots and shoots have started, their growth is sustained
by soil, moisture, light and air.  Moisture enables the roots to
absorb soil substances in liquid solution.  Energy from light is
utilized by the plant leaves to transform water and carbon dioxide
from the air, in the presence of absorbed soil substances, into
nourishment for the grown plant cells. Plant cells then consume
this nourishment through a process of respiration, using oxygen
from the air.  As much as 98 per cent of the material with which
the plant body is built may come from air and water - only 2 per
cent coming strictly from the soil.

     As plants grow, the roots extend downwards and the main stem
or trunk upwards, the branch stems sideways, and shoots are turned
toward the light by the faster growth of their sides or parts
receiving least light.  Equally marvelous is the way the thickness
of the trunk is proportioned to the size of the branches and the
size of the root system to that of the shoot system.

     The season of bloom of a plant depends upon its inner rate of
growth and upon these outside factors: the beginning and maintenance
of the temperatures required for plant growth, the weekly hours of
sunlight and its intensity, and, in some cases, on a longer or
shorter daily period of exposure to light - so that some plants
bloom only when the days are long and others bloom only when the
days are short.

     Following pollination of blooms by insects, seeds are formed,
dropped, and then scattered for a new cycle of sprouting and
growth.

     Sun, soil and moisture requirements can be stated in words,
but only the loving care of the good and faithful steward will
discover the most favorable conditions for each plant in a
particular garden site.

Preparing the Soil

     Before plants are started in the garden, it is important that
the soil have a porous or spongy texture which will retain water
and soil solutions, and at the same time drain excess water so that
air will be absorbed.  If a porous, sandy soil does not drain away
puddles of rain water, dig and mix the soil deeper: or put in a
layer of cinders, pebbles or drainage tile at the bottom of the bed
to absorb excess water or carry it away to one side.  Air in the
soil is as important as water, as it is from air that coil bacteria
obtain and "fix" into the soil the nitrogen required for plant
growth.  The minerals required for plant growth are present
naturally in most soils in varying degrees.

     Soil may be considered as a mixture of clay, sand and plant
residues.  Clay gives the soil body or retentiveness.  Sand
provides looseness and drainage.  Plant residues provide
sponginess, porosity and lightness - as well as sustenance for soil
fungi, algae. bacteria and earthworms.  Soils containing a
balanced mixture of clay, sand and plant residues are referred to
as "common" garden soils; those containing more or less clay as
"heavy" or "light" soils; those containing more sand as "sandy"
soils; and those containing more plant residues as "rich" soils.
Most plants do well in common garden soil, but they frequently have
preferences for heavy, light, sandy or rich soils.  They may also
have preferences for moist or dry soils.

     Soil is conveniently enriched and made porous by mixing
decomposed leaves, grass clippings and plant cuttings into it.
These materials are collected in a "compost" heap or pile during
the growing season and in the fall, and kept wet.  By spring
fungi, algae and bacteria will have decomposed them into rich,
black leaf mold or compost which can be spread on top of the soil
and dug into it with spade or fork.  This same digging also gets
needed air down into the soil.

     If good results are not obtained, send a soil sample to the
nearest government agricultural station for analysis and
recommended addition of minerals.

Sowing

     If you would honor Mary by growing her flowers, do justice to
the seed.  Treat seed with respect. Be faithful to seed
requirements so that God's riches and artistry locked within them
may unfold as gifts to Mary, who unfailingly leads us to her
Divine Son and Lord, Jesus Christ.

     The conditions required for seed germination are few and
simple: a certain temperature range, moisture and porous soil or
other medium to bring moisture to, and excess moisture away from,
contact with the seeds.

     Sowings can be made outdoors at the proper time, but those
seeds which require warm soil (65 deg to 70 deg F. for germination
can be sown to advantage indoors in two-inch deep containers of soil
at a sunny windowsill - safe from flood, drought, and disturbance
by birds and animals.

     Any containers will do - large or small wood, metal, plastic
or waterproof cardboard; boxes, cake pans, coffee cans.  Soil is
made porous by mixing sand and Ieafmold, peat or similar materials
with it, and moisture is provided by gentle hand sprinkling. Cracks
or holes made in the bottom of the containers will drain off any
excess moisture.

     To make a sowing, fill each container with mixed soil, level
the soil and make one eighth inch deep furrows about 2" apart with
your fingers or a pointed instrument.  Shake seeds from a packet
into each furrow, cover with soil to a depth of from two to four
times seed thickness; mark the name of the seed on the edge of the
container; and firm the soil.  Then give a thorough initial
moistening and place outdoors or in a windowsill providing the
proper temperature.  Give additional moisture only when soil
becomes dry.  Do not over-water. Annuals seedlings should sprout in
one week; most perennials in two to three weeks.  As the seedlings
crowd each other, thin them out promptly, or move some of them to
other containers.

     Seedlings can be transplanted to garden or nursery bed
outdoors when they are about two inches high.  Transplanting is
accomplished by lifting each seedling and its surrounding soil with
a small spoon or a spade and placing it in a hole made in the soil
of the new bed - being careful not to injure its tiny roots.  Press
the soil in place and water thoroughly.  Seedlings are best
transplanted on a cool, cloudy day to permit an initial adaptation
to their new surroundings before exposure to sunlight.

Early Sowing

     Most annual plants require at least ten weeks from seed
germination until bloom.  In climates where the soil warms up in
midspring, annuals seed sown outdoors will not produce blooms until
mid-summer.  For ealier bloom such seeds can be started indoors six
to ten weeks before outdoor sowing time - provided care is take to
"harden" or "toughen" the seedlings before they are given open
exposure to the cooler outdoor nighttime temperatures. Hardening
is accomplished by moving the container of seedlings to a sheltered
outdoor location for one or two weeks before transplanting to
exposed garden beds.  Before hardening, the seedlings are usually
light green in color.  Afterwards they are bluish.

     Outdoor shelter is commonly provided by a "cold frame" Ñ a
wooden box with a hinged or removabe glass top which permits the
sun to reach the seedlings by day but protects them from the cold
at night. Such a shelter is also usable as a means of starting
seeds outdoors five or six weeks earlier than normal sowing time
in exposed beds.  On hot, sunny days overheating should be avoided
by raising the glass top of the frame to provide ventilation.

     Warm soil (65 deg to 70 deg F.) biennials and perennials seeds
also can be sown to advantage in soil containers indoors or outdoors
because of the greater ease in sowing and early tending.

     Due to their slower growth, biennials and perennials seedlings
are usually kept in nursery beds for one season before they are
moved to their final garden locations in the fall or the following
spring.

     When outdoor winter temperatures are not cold enough, or
where a late winter or early spring sowing is to be made, cold
soil (33 deg to 42 deg F.) perennials seeds can be placed in moist
soil or other medium in a refrigerator. In six weeks or more such
seeds begin to swell, after which they should be moved to a cool
outdoor location for sprouting.

Tending

     After seedlings and plants have been established in the
garden, they require moisture, cultivation and weeding.  Where the
absence of rain makes watering necessary, a deep soaking once a
week is better than light daily sprinklings.  Cultivation or
movement of the soil with a hoe or hooked fork kills beginning
weeds, improves drainage, and breaks up any hard crust which might
prevent air or moisture from penetrating down to the plant roots.
Weeds ("plants out of place") are rooted up to prevent crowding of
the plants intended for the beds.  A soil cover or "mulch" of
peat, grass clippings or stones can help retain moisture and at
the same time stop crusting and weed growth.

     Sticks and strings can be used to support tall, shallow-rooted
annuals and slender perennial plants to safeguard them from being
knocked or weighted down by rain storms.  The picking of blooms
prolongs the bloom period of many plants.  Dead or diseased blooms,
shoots or plants should he removed promptly.  Some blooms should be
left on the finer plants for pollination by insects and ripening of
seeds.

     Many perennial plants can be propagated by dividing their root
or bulb clumps into two or more plants, or by developing new root
growth from stems.  New root growth is started by removing 1/2" of
bark from a growing stem, and surrounding ("layering") it in moist
soil; or by placing a small "slip" or "cutting," with three or four
sets of leaves, into warm, moist sand.

     The tending of plant life affords a profound analogy and
reminder of our responsibility for the supernatural life of grace
in our souls, and in the souls of our children.  Seeds and plants
demand a constant earth and a constant gardener.  Much greater is
the demand for constancy in safeguarding, nourishing and
cultivating the seeds of grace sown in human souls by Christ the
Sower.

Dormant Life

     Plant life has its rest: the plants become dormant.  Biennials
and perennials which lie dormant in winter need a covering.

     To avoid root damage from the successive freezings and
thawings of winter, and to prevent spoilage by unseasonable warmth
followed by a freeze, cover the ground and low plants with leaves,
salt hay, or evergreen branches.  Enclose tall plants, if they need
protection, with burlap or stacked evergreen boughs.  Remove the
covering in late winter or early spring and be watchful as awakened
plant life emerges from the garden beds.

Supernatural Life

     The gardener is blessed when aware of Providence and natural
life and is as much aware of the Church and supernatural life.

     Even with all of that, the gardener may find it a difficult
spiritual and intellectual discipline to apply Christian names,
thought and religious sense to gardening as a work.  So, too,
communicating with others could be trying, if for no other reason
than that the common usage of language in our day and place is not
helpful.

     The Church, holding ever to good and innocent expressions, has
turned from the time of the Fathers to the terms of nature for
descriptive and symbolic, instructional and religious purposes.  For
example, the homily of St. Germanus as found in the Divine Office
of the Roman rite for the Immaculate Conception:

          "Hail, most pleasant and ordered garden of God, planted
          toward the East by God's own omnipotent hand, breathing
          up to Him the sweet fragrance of lily and germinating the
          rose that cannot wither, from which is pressed the
          draught for the cure of those who have gulped down the
          pestilential and fatally bitter poison of death. Hail,
          Paradise, where blooms the life-giving Word, whose taste
          produces immortality . . . Hail, God's mountain of lush
          grass and shade, whereon the Lamb and Word was
          strengthened to hear our sins and sicknesses . . . O holy
          bearer-of-God, immaculate, who bore the Word Incarnate,
          the Lamb Christ."

     When Christian religious sense and expression are of the heart
and in the daily living of gardeners and farmers, much that is in
nature, and in the liturgy and symbolism of the Church may more
readily touch the heart and quicken the spirit unto the things of
supernatural life.


Copyright Mary's Gardens, 1955, 1995