Reporting to you from Grand Rapids, Michigan, with another great adventure from GardenComm, Garden Communicators International. Those of us who write, speak, post, photograph, reel, video, podcast, ponder, promote, like, and market all things gardening joined many from the nursery trade, coming together at our Annual Conference to teach each other, sharpen skills, increase awareness, introduce innovations, and “geek out” over plants. I’m happy to bring back to you glimpses of Bible plants in Grand Rapids.
The GardenComm professional organization measures up with amazing talent yet remains down-to-earth, eager to grow together and bless the world with inspiration to garden. Repeating my mantra every year, if you don’t have your own trade organization, join ours! We are a welcoming group, and if you are filling your Facebook feed with flowers, you are already a garden communicator.
Glimpsing Bible Plants in Grand Rapids
As you might imagine, located about 10 degrees north latitude of the Holy Land, Michigan climate is very different from the day-to-day exposure and experience of the people in Scripture stories. Nevertheless, here and there in our gorgeous garden tour around town and outlying areas, I spied Biblical plants or species very similar to those mentioned in the ancient pages. Enjoy the following snapshots and realize that regardless of climate, garden glimpses of plants mentioned in the pages of the Bible are great connection points to help us relate to God’s Word.
Willows of the Brook
My morning prayer run through Grand Rapids downtown brought me to this serene Grand River view of “willows of the brook,” a melodic phrase resonating from the King James Version. Willows are easily discovered in most natural landscapes, especially along the banks of waterways and creeks. They are a signal of refreshment since they grow near abundant water, suggesting in the spiritual realm the revitalizing current infused by Holy Spirit.
The most common willows growing in Michigan include Laurel willow, pussy willow, black willow, and weeping willow, genus cousins to Salix alba and S. acmophylla, the willows of the Bible lands.
And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. Leviticus 23:40 KJV
The man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. Jeremiah 17:7-8 HCSB
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. Isaiah 44:4 ESV
I spied willows at Windmill Island Gardens and Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, two of the local public gardens that we visited, and many more in private gardens and parks. Look for a more in-depth article on willow vs. poplar in the Devotions Blog coming soon.
Papyrus
A surprisingly popular plant in Michigan garden pots is papyrus. One might think papyrus would be a “fish out of water” in the cold, snowy, northern state, far and away from the flooded Nile River where Moses was hidden in the reeds in a papyrus basket (Exodus 2:3). However, Proven Winners® Graceful Grasses® collection includes several hybrids of Cyperus papyrus, a plant brand headquartered near Grand Rapids and gracious sponsor of the conference. King Tut®, Queen Tut™, and Prince Tut™ were reigning all around town!
This pot snapshot is taken at Garden Crossings in Zeeland, and several private gardens featured them, too. Papyrus roots (rhizomes) like to stay moist-to-wet, even tolerating standing water; be sure to pair it with other water-lovers if you feature it in a container composition. Potted papyrus can be more easily over-wintered indoors, although I typically grow them as annuals.
But when she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with asphalt and pitch. She placed the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. Exodus 2:3 HCSB
Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water? While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass. Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. Job 8:11-12 NIV
Yes, I am a fan of papyrus and even “crammed” one in my suitcase to bring home! Fortunately, I came home to several days of rain, so this Michigan flora has had an easy transition to Texas’ southern exposure.
Buckthorn
One of my great hopes for the trip was to see this special species of Rhamnus in the landscape, and FineLine®Buckthorn did not disappoint. Though the true Biblical species likely to hedge in properties with a thorny defense was much fiercer than this fluffy-leaved hybrid, I think of the sentinel stature of these tall, stalwart shrubs as a subtle reminder to be impenetrable in fiery prayer and stand our ground against evil.
This buckthorn is somewhat stealth behind more showy plants, lending a sort of “secure the perimeter” personna. Read more about Fine Line® Buckthorn in Hedge of Protection from the Devotions Blog.
He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower, and rented it to vinedressers, and went to a far country…” Mark 12:1 MEV
But I’ll block her way with a thorn hedge; I’ll put a wall up around her, blocking her usual paths Hosea 2:6 VOICE
Fennel
What a garden favorite fennel turned out to be! Spied at Meijer Gardens and many others, this end-of-summer show off towers with soft yellow, umbel arrays and delicious licorice flavor. Fennel offers beauty and spicy aroma when its leaves are brushed. In modern times it is the signature flavor of Italian sausage, and this Mediterranean favorite was a likely staple in Biblical-era herb gardens, too.
When he has leveled its surface, does he not cast abroad [the seed of] dill or fennel and scatter cummin [a seasoning], and put the wheat in rows, and barley in its intended place, and spelt [an inferior kind of wheat] as the border? [And he trains each of them correctly] for his God instructs him correctly and teaches him. Isaiah 28:25-26 AMPC
Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone…” Luke 11:42 NIV
I confess I love the taste and nibbled leaves from every viewing. How can I help but taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8)!
Apple Trees
Speaking of God’s goodness, what a joy to see apple trees everywhere, and crab apples, too. One of the great treats of seeing northern landscapes! Branches were bursting and beginning to drop fruits in some gardens, and apples were already blushing red though temperatures were not quite full of autumn chill. There were too many to record species and cultivar names, yet I was definitely refreshed by seeing them.
Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a ruling rightly given. Proverbs 25:11 NIV
Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. Song of Songs 2:5 NIV
Apples certainly win the Great Apple-Apricot Debate in these parts, though it is likely that the apple trees of Scripture were actually apricots.
More Bible Plants in Grand Rapids
Closing Prayer
O God, thank you for your ever-presence in the landscape: To escape outdoors is to seek you, and every garden is like an open conversation and invitation to be with You. How good it is to walk with You in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8), and when the hot breezes blow, too. Thank You for knocking on the door of my heart and drawing me outside to find Your delight! From Your apple-goodness to Your riverfront refreshment, You are my God in the garden and I am so glad. Pour out Your blessings in our land, O Lord. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth
Psalm 46:8 The Message
“Where Can I Find Bible Plants in…?” has been a running series for over 10 years at Garden in Delight. Check out more surprising places to glimpse Bible plants across American cities
Take a deeper look at the garden view of Thorns, Papyrus, and Apples in My Father is the Gardener, Devotions in Botany and Gardening of the Bible
Find Willow, Papyrus, and Fennel in the Garden in Delight Plant Guide, with more information and tips on growing them garden to table.
See for yourself from our great garden plants and products sponsoring the GardenComm Annual Conference: Proven Winners®Color Choice® Shrubs, Dramm Corporation rain wands, Iseli Nursery, Ball Horticultural, First Edition Shrubs & Trees, Sol Soils, Twixwood Nursery, Cobrahead – The Best Tool in Earth, Crescent Garden Planters, and National Garden Bureau. We are so grateful for our sponsors!
Photo Credits: ©2024 Shelley S. Cramm
AMPC notes Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible, Classic Edition, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org
EXB denotes Scripture quotations taken from The Expanded Bible. Copyright ©2011 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
HCSB denotes Scripture quotations taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
KJV denotes Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version published in 1611, authorized by King James I of England, which is public domain in the United States.
The Message denotes Scripture quotations taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.
NIV denotes Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®
