This is How Father Feeds the Birds in My Garden

 

I would have been sad to see the pomegranate in my garden last season had I not understood the ways of the Lord.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,

 yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

Are you not more valuable than they?

(Matthew 6:26)

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?

Yet no one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.

(Matthew 10:29)

\

My Parents' Garden

My father is a serious gardener and he collects exotic seeds from other countries and germinate them in his nursery to be planted to the city's parks and grounds. He works for the city's Natural Resource and Environment Office. As soon as the cock crows, he's already in his garden. 

My Pa in his garden at sunrise when I last visited them in my homecountry. 

My father is more into fruit trees and decorative trees. He has more than 20 varieties of fruit trees in his garden. Neighbors are blessed to come and enjoy the fruits for free.

Pomelo in my Pa's garden. Ma is standing in front the house.

Durian, chesnuts, avocado, marang, rambutan, lychee, etc. He's got them all in his garden and always bearing in each season but almost all-year round they get to enjoy the sweet pomelo. 

The most delicious variety of avocado.

When I was there last June, I enjoyed the most delicious avocado. They're big and very rich.

My Ma is into flowers. She likes her house surrounded with blooms. Below is the collage of photos I took when I visited my parents. 

I'm glad I am a gardener like them.

Faith sees a beautiful blossom in a bulb, a lovely garden in a seed, 

a giant oak in an acorn.

(William Arthur Ward)

Freshness From the Local Market and From My Garden

Saturday is market day for me and my dear husband. We take 3 of this bag to carry all fresh produce home from the local market nearest us. It's a lot cheaper to buy from the market than from the grocery shops. There are many choices, too. Aside from that, it's a good way of helping the local farmers and sellers.

One good thing about living in this big city is that we get to have access to affordable fresh produce from the nearby provinces. I've live in many cities and this city has the cheapest local market (excluding the ones in China).

One can't get this freshness from the freezers of big supermarkets.

Once they get to the air-conditioned shelves, their prices are doubled.

Don't you love these greens?

Speaking of green, I would like to show you my little compost bucket that made my vegetable garden green.

It's usually used as a garbage bin but we made holes around the sides and made it our compost bin. Two weeks ago I cultivated my vegetable garden and added compost soil on top. In just couple of days, I saw how the leaves of my plants have become healthier. Here are some snapshots from 2 weeks ago.

Mongo beans, mint, lemon grass, spinach, grape vine and a yellow flower.

These are just few of what I have in my little garden. Each time I serve freshness on the table, especially the ones from my own garden, a sense of accomplishment is my worth reward. I'm sure it's more for those who are real farmers, dont' you think so?

Fresh basil straight from our garden to our table...made our lunch more delicious.

Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards.

Proverbs 12:14

Sowing Seeds

I'm a gardener and in my garden blog you will see all the plants and flowers I grow in my garden. But I also have another garden that I tend....and this is even closer to my heart than the one in my own yard.

 

Our charity foundation has a little community library. 

 

On one side of  the wall you see a tree. This tree is a reminder that in our community service, we are growing trees. So it takes time to see the fruit of our labor but the result is long lasting and even beyond our lifetime. 

 

We also call this corner the friendship garden. For the children, this serves as a reminder that they are important to us and that they all belong to a community. 

 

The children we serve come from different background - Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus. In our library and in the classroom, they become one happy community. 

Would you like to help tend this garden? 

Our special thanks to the Santos Family for hosting a penny auction and donated the proceeds  to Happy Community Foundation. Read the full story here and you will be blessed to see how children are helping children from across the continent.