September in the garden is a juxtaposition. I look across one bed, as above, bursting with gomphrena and celosia and flanked by silvery eucalyptus. The next bed is just an expanse of soil, freshly tilled, needing to be shaped and prepped for seedlings. Next is a section full of dead plants with weedy edges and overgrown pathways. But on the end, three beautiful rows of sunflowers stretch tall. Two beds of small, cool flower seedlings have just been planted. Hence the juxtaposition---there is bounty and scarcity, beauty and mess, endings and beginnings. In short, there is change. I am an active participant in the change in the garden, which reminds me that change is hard. But we need the change for the seasons ahead, and I am excited to embrace it.
To each of us God gives different gifts, one of which is the ability to capture the beauty of His creation in another form, such as colors on a canvas. I had the absolute pleasure of having some very talented friends visit the garden this month. If you are unfamiliar with Laura Grace Clark, talented artist and calligrapher, then you are missing out. Gracie and I finally worked out a day for art and flowers to come together. Watching these women select a vantage point and then recreate that view with oils and pastels was amazing to me. Katie Hallahan created the piece pictured above with pastels, and brought to life my celosia, a cute cow and even the garden tarp. How did she make even that beautiful?!
I was awed watching these lovely ladies capture the beauty of the garden in oil and pastel.
Pastel artwork above by Katie Hallahan (IG: hallahan.art)
Pictured: Top Left – Julia Anne Adams (IG: @jwadamsfineart) – her painting of my white cosmos was prettier than the actual flowers!
Bottom Right – Rebecca Bawcom
Gracie Clark (IG: @lauragraceclark_art)
It is impossible to send a Jones Valley Flowers email, highlighting artwork of the farm, and not make sure you have seen Gracie's “Grounded” series.
She paints these stunning landscapes in acrylics mixed with SOIL FROM THE FARM. I know.
These truly bring to life what it means to be grounded to a sense of place, which is exactly what the valley is to so many of us. Part of our place.
Click below to see her process and more on her website.
Calling all supporters of Jones Valley Flowers who also happen to have trees in their yard! It is officially nearing the time when nature begins the truest expression of fall – falling leaves! And I need all I can get. Using leaves as mulch is the number one way I try to garden sustainably and regeneratively. Not much is better for that than leaves! They suppress weeds, protect the soil and keep it moist, and they break down into nutrient rich organic matter that feeds the microbiomes in the soil. It's like God planned it that way :)
So if any of you have bagged leaves from your yard this fall PLEASE let me know and I will come and pick them up from you myself! Email me, message me on socials, or text me! You can clean up your yard and support your local flower farm at the same time!
Here is a little glimpse of the hundreds and hundreds of seedlings I have been working to plant this month. I have about ¾ in the ground and will hopefully get the rest in this week! My goal is to have them all planted 6-8 weeks before the first estimated frost. Which is now…
If I had to choose one word for my work in the garden this month, it would be the word toil. I have been toiling in the dirt and heat. One morning I honestly just felt discouraged. I had worked for hours, with unforgiving and dry soil, felt like I made very little progress and only planted about half a bed of tiny little seedlings, just hoping they would survive the hot sun. I said out loud “Lord I know that it is my sin that made this ground hard and unforgiving, but please let this toil be worth it.” I prayed that prayer with a little laugh but realized that it raised a real question - is the toil worth it?
Not simply my work in the garden, but the things I labor at in life. I toil in trying to consistently discipline and disciple my kids. I toil in trying to encourage someone in a time of emotional pain. I toil in my marriage, trying to be selfless yet often falling short. What makes it all worth it? What God gently whispered to my heart in the garden that day was this -- hope. Put your hope in Me, not in yourself.
Toil. God is what gave it the ability to grow and bloom in the first place. So we toil, but we toil with hope.
I toil to prepare the garden, toil to put seedlings in the ground, toil to keep them alive through winter. All with the sheer hope that they make it--that the blooms in spring will make it all worth it.
Thank the Lord that in life, when we toil for the work of Jesus Christ, we can know with assurance why it will be worth it.
It is worth it because of Him. He is our living hope.
That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
1 Timothy 4:10
Change is upon the garden, turning over from one season to the next. With each new seedling planted, I think of how incredible it is that September's work will be May's reward. If you are working on something in your life that will not come to fruition for a while, I see you. And I hope these words have encouraged you.
Change is inevitable, but beauty certainly follows.
As always, I would love to hear from you; please reach out anytime. I am so grateful for your support and thankful we can enjoy a life made more beautiful by flowers.
Garth Road
