Jesus said, “What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams. Are you listening to this? Really listening?” (Matthew 13: 3 – 9)

I planted my first-ever garden. I have no idea what I’m doing. I searched online for “what plans grow like crazy”. Bishop’s weed. “Spreads quickly  and difficult to eradicate,” the description said.  Sounds like good ground cover to me, and it’s prettier than the name implies. I already have a rose of Sharon (of Song of Solomon fame) and a burning bush (which turns read in autumn), so I decided to stick with the religious theme and added a lily of the valley, also known as Mary’s tears and a symbol of purity and humility. Finally, I planted two bleeding hearts to represent the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary. With so many allusions of my faith already, I think a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi would be overkill!

All of the plants I chose are hardy, the kinds of plants Jesus was talking about in his parable about seeds that bear fruit. I relate more to the giant unruly lilac along my driveway. It has an invasive tree growing up in the middle that I can’t get rid of no matter how much I hack at it, and it hasn’t bloomed in two years because of unusually long, cold winters. I wanted to rip the whole thing out, by my best friend, an experienced gardener, advised that I give it another year. I trust that God is as patient with me.