Time Began in a Garden

and

Garden Pleasures Journal

By Emilie Barnes
Illustrated by Glynda Turley
Harvest House

Time Began in a Garden ISBN 1-56507-3681, $14.99
Garden Pleasures Journal ISBN 1-56507-4025, $8.99

From God's Good Earth

Review by Harriet Morehouse

It's time again to clear away the dry refuse of winter, till the earth, and sow seeds. It's time to plant a garden. Whether you're interested in growing plants to eat or plants to bloom and perfume the air, you'll be inspired by Time Began in a Garden.

"The time that began in a garden is the kind of time I go to our garden to find again. It's time the way God created it: as a servant and not a master." Thus Emilie Barnes begins Time Began in a Garden, and this philosophy of time and approach to life guides the whole book.

In seven chapters, each marked by Glynda Turley's beautiful art, Barnes describes the rejuvenation and truths, both practical and spiritual, to be gained from gardening such as the joy of sharing produce from your garden, of working with children in a garden--weeding, fertilizing, watering, checking for bugs, of the romance of a garden by starlight.

A pleasing mix of the practical and the sublime, Barnes's words are very personal. You have the feeling of being with a dear friend who is giving you wisdom gleaned in her own life at the same time that she shares a recipe for fresh tomato pasta sauce or tells the secrets of cutting a perfect bouquet.

On one page entitled "The Joy of Journaling," Barnes encourages readers to keep a garden journal. She says that if you want to learn something from your gardening, write it down, and she cites Thomas Jefferson and George Washington as garden journalers of the past.

Harvest House Publishers has made garden journaling easier with Garden Pleasures, a blank journal just for this purpose. From crocus and spring lettuce in early spring to chrysanthemums and turnips in the fall, they can be recorded along with the observations and spiritual lessons they suggest. Glynda Turley's paintings add a beautiful touch to the journal as well.

If you're needing "a place to go for rest and spiritual renewal," take Emilie Barnes's suggestion and try a garden. You'll find it to be much more than a resource for cooking and decorating. And be sure to read Time Began in a Garden both before and after. You will find your soul healed as your garden grows.

Harriet Morehouse is a freelance reviewer from Oklahoma City, OK.