GUARDIANS OF THE GARDEN

Guardians of the Garden

By Colleen Lasky

Published in Creation Illustrated, Winter 2022, Vol.28 No. 4

Note: The photos are temporarily different from those in the article.

The mushrooms that arrived in my vegetable garden arrived as surprising visitors. I did not plant them. They just sprang up as gray, miniature umbrellas, showing off razor thin lines that glistened in the sun like fine silver. I knelt in the morning dew, curiously examining them and wondering what they were called.

As a novice in vegetable gardening, another question nagged me: “What is their purpose?” Little did I know that my curiosity would help me discover the intricacies of these tiny fungi and even lead me on a journey regarding my identity and purpose as I continued to grow in the garden of our Lord.

This journey began with a desire to have a small backyard vegetable garden. So, while February snowflakes were still blowing outside our windows, my little grandsons and I planted an assortment of vegetable and tomato seeds in sprouting pots, placed them near a sunny window, watched over them like expectant parents, and wondered about the new life that we hoped God would help bring into our home.

Within weeks, empty seed shells were lifted by green sprouts. Excited to witness the gift of God’s creation unfolding before our eyes, we saw how quickly the little shoots would transform into strong plants. When May arrived, we transferred the plants into the deep, rich soil that filled our raised garden beds.

How quickly they flourished! Soon we had long cucumber vines spilling over the boundaries of the wooden bed. Full, leafy squash plants burst with bright yellow flowers, and tomato plants eagerly climbed up their support poles. Then one memorable morning in June, I noticed the mushrooms had arrived.

Only one or two little gray mushrooms appeared near the tomato plants in the beginning, but the fungi grew into small colonies during the weeks that followed. Further inspection revealed little yellow mushrooms growing near the squash and cucumber plants. Had I watered too much? Too little? My first instinct was to pull them out of the ground, but wisdom slowed me down. “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). My two original questions returned with a renewed energy now-What were they called, and what was their purpose for being here?

I did not have a gardening mentor, so I turned to research. The little yellow mushrooms proved easy enough to identify as a common gilled mushroom called cone cap. In contrast, the little gray mushrooms made me work very hard to learn their identity. Eventually, out of sheer determination, I could label the gray mushroom as hare’s foot inkcap, which are also considered common gilled mushrooms frequently seen in Britain and Ireland. Ever present is the notion that many mushrooms can be poisonous, so common sense dictates that great care remains paramount when dealing with any mushroom.

Further research caused me to rejoice in my decision not to pull all the mushrooms as soon as they arrived. I discovered that these types of mushrooms are wonderful helpers to gardeners! To begin with, they provide a sure sign that a vegetable garden is healthy and balanced. This notion alone caused a gardener like me to feel a moment of relief.

Still, as I was about to unearth them, their purpose goes far beyond giving a little nod of approval that all is well. In fact, there exists a little city of both vegetable roots and mushroom fibers interacting with each other below the surface of the soil. As the vegetable roots provided life-supporting oxygen to mushroom fibers, the mushrooms seemed to return the favor by breaking down wood chips in the soil to provide quality nutrients for the plants. I couldn’t help but smile warmly when I learned about this symbiotic relationship connecting beneath the surface because as a child of God, I, too, must generously engage in helpful relationships. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Despite all the positive gardening experiences I had so far, I did have moments of doubt. One afternoon when I could feel the hot sun hovering over me, I noticed all the gray mushrooms had disappeared. Was this an indication that my garden had become unhealthy? To my delight, that wasn’t the case at all. The next morning, I noticed new mushrooms had bountifully sprung up in place of the old mushrooms precisely where and when they were needed the most. In addition to providing important nutrients to the garden plants, mushrooms also help soak up excess water in the soil.

I further marveled at the short span of a mushroom’s life, which often only lasts a day. The many generations of mushrooms that come and go within one gardening season left me in awe. Basically, they show up right on cue and provide marvelous work for the garden; then they die to become one with the earth at the end of their life cycle. As scripture states, “There is a time to be born and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2).

One evening during vespers as the sun began to set in a colorful sky, my husband and I sat on the front porch discussing the genius work of our Creator.

“You know,” I said with a smile, “It is very humbling to consider that our own purpose as Christians is not so very different from common mushroom fungi. We are born on a certain day in history, we are called to do wonderful things in the Lord’s garden according to his desires; then we die and get replaced by a new generation.”

He agreed while I shared my amazement and wonder at our Creator, God. In fact, it seemed at that moment as if all the surrounding acres were caught up in the same celebration of their Creator that we were experiencing together. “Let the fields be jubilant and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy” (Psalm 96:12).

The mushrooms helped the garden flourish! Tomatoes showed up in great bunches, quickly turning from green to red, seeming to sing a song about generous giving. Cucumbers came in great numbers, and the squash vines wound around with the promise of a good harvest day. Soon, I was able to show the female squash to my little grandsons and explain that one day they would be edible zucchinis, as I showed the stem below the thickening flower. “Whoa!” they said with wide eyes.

When harvest day finally arrived, the mushrooms remained hard at work. When we picked large bouquets of fragrant, green basil to share with neighbors, the mushrooms stood guardians of the garden. When we picked tomatoes and popped them into our mouths while they were still warm, the mushrooms stayed hard at work like true and steady friends. They stayed with us until the last cucumber was harvested and the last tomato was plucked from the vine. Then they were gone, and they did not return.

The experience of growing a vegetable garden with God by our sides afforded blessings in so many ways, but the unexpected gift of the mushrooms that He sent to help us on our gardening journey touched my heart profoundly. They reminded me about the importance of prudence, patience, and moment-by-moment thanksgiving. They caused me to reflect on my identity as a Christian and how I am being called to become a guardian of God’s garden by bearing the gospel of God’s grace with every word and each human encounter. His whole Creation seems to sing out the mushroom’s message, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

As I grow little seedlings on my windowsill this winter, I will greatly anticipate the return of the garden mushrooms that helped me reflect on purposeful living as shared in Ecclesiastes 3:12,13. “I know there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil – this is the gift of God.”