Garden with Nature Parable
This parable tells – simply and humorously – why you can make a difference for the planet
right in your own backyard!
Credit: iStock Walt41
GOD: St. Francis, you know all about gardening and nature. What happened to the beautiful wildflowers I planted eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The seeds and nectar from their long-lasting blossoms attract butterflies, honeybees and songbirds. I expected to see a vast quilt of colors covering the land by now. But all I see are green rectangles. What in the world is going on down there?
ST. FRANCIS: It’s the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your wildflowers “weeds” and go to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.
GOD: Grass? But it’s so boring. It’s not colorful. It doesn’t provide food for pollinators and it does not grow well. Do these suburbanites really want all that grass?
ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They spend a lot of time and money to grow grass and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing and poisoning any other plant that
pops up.
GOD: The spring rains and warm weather make grass grow. That must make the Suburbanites happy.
ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it…. sometimes twice a week.
GOD: They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?
ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly Lord. Most of them put it in bags.
GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?
ST. FRANCIS: No Lord, just the opposite. They dump it into big holes they dig in the
earth called landfills.
GOD: Now, let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow, then they cut it off and pay to throw it away?
ST. FRANCIS: Yes, Lord.
GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved when we cut back on the rain. Grass does not grow then so they should save a lot of work and money.
ST. FRANCIS: You are not going to believe this, Lord. They water grass to make it grow more so they can continue to mow and throw it away.
GOD: What nonsense. At least they kept the trees – one of my best inventions, if I do say so myself. Trees grow leaves in spring to provide shade and cool the air. In autumn, the leaves turn beautiful colors then fall to the ground to form a natural blanket that keeps moisture in the soil and protects the earth from winter’s cold. Plus, as the leaves decompose they form compost to feed the soil. It’s the natural circle of life.
ST. FRANCIS: You’d better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have replaced the circle of life with a flat line. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them thrown into the landfill holes.
GOD: No. What do they do to protect the ground?
ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.
GOD: And where do they get this mulch?
ST. FRANCIS: They cut down the trees and grind them into mulch.
GOD: Enough! I don’t want to think about this anymore. Saint Catherine, you oversee the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?
ST. CATHERINE: “Dumb and Dumber” Lord, it’s a movie about…
GOD: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.