Ever heard of an
ecumenical garden? That's not a term you hear everyday at the
local diner, but it is one you might be interested in. An ecumenical
garden is a garden composed of plants mentioned in biblical scriptures.
But that's not all.
Ever heard of an
ecumenical garden? That's not a term you hear everyday at the
local diner, but it is one you might be interested in. An ecumenical
garden is a garden composed of plants mentioned in biblical scriptures.
But that's not all.
There are some 128 plants mentioned in the Bible. Israel, as in the United States, has many different areas and climates where plants can grow. An ecumenical garden is not only a good place for scriptural meditation and inspiration, but it's educational too. Not only can people see the plants mentioned in scripture such as apricots, coriander, fig trees, olive trees, pomegranates, and tares, they can gain insight on how the plant was or is used in daily life.
For example, in the book of Matthew, verses
13:24, 25 states, "The kingdom of heaven is likened unto
a man who sowed good seed in his fields: but while men slept,
his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way."
Tares are thought to be what we would call darnel today. Darnel
looks very similar to wheat when the plants are young. During
biblical times, just as it is today, wheat was a very important
crop. The seeds were ground to make flour for bread. Wheat stalks
were used as fodder (food) and bedding for animals. The stalks
could also be woven into baskets and mixed with mud to make bricks
stronger. After cutting the wheat with scythes and gathering up
the harvest, farmers turned their animals into the fields to graze
on the stubble and fertilize the field for the next year's crop.
Tare seeds can sometimes be poisonous, so tares cannot be grown
for food. Tares can be distinguished from the wheat by the time
the seed pods develop, but the plants are usually left to grow
together until harvest. The wheat would likely be uprooted if
we tried to pull up the tares. But there is another way to get
rid of the tares. After the wheat has been cut, the stalks are
threshed in order to separate the grain from the stalks. Then
the seeds are separated from the inedible parts called chaff.
Sometimes this was done with a fan. The lighter tare seeds are
blown away along with other chaff.
Today, primitive farmers still winnow their wheat crops by tossing
the seeds into the air and letting the wind blow way the lighter
chaff, including any darnel seeds.
I'm uncertain whether an ecumenical garden should have tares (darnel)
in it, but a small patch of wheat with appropriate signage and
accompanying information could definitely be educational. The
same could be said for apples, grapes, figs, and even the frankincense
tree, mustard, or "the lilies of the field." An ecumenical
garden could also add a water feature and fish.
Ecumenical gardens are great places to learn biblical history, develop community pride, and create an aesthetic surrounding for recreational purposes as well.