Grounds for success

How does your garden grow? For the past few weeks, contestants on BBC Two’s The Big Allotment Challenge have been answering that question with their gardening skills. Viewers of the show, hosted by Fern Britton, have seen nine pairs of passionate gardeners putting their horticultural knowledge to good use in various challenges in the hope of being crowned Britain’s best growers.

In a garden in the grounds of Mapledurham House, Oxfordshire, the pairs face three weekly challenges – ‘grow’, ‘make’ and ‘eat’. The tasks are overseen by garden and food experts Jim Buttress, Jonathan Moseley and Thane Prince.

The ‘grow’ challenge gives contestants a chance to prove just how green-fingered they are when it comes to producing prize-worthy fruit or vegetables. At the end of each challenge, Jim uses his 40 years of experience to examine the contestants’ produce for quality.

There are two ‘make’ tasks. One tests the contestants’ expertise in nurturing flawless flowers; the other gives them the chance to showcase how creative they are when making attractive floral arrangements. With his keen eye for flora, Jonathan nips any messy displays in the bud.

In the ‘eat’ challenge, Thane tests cooking skills as the teams turn their best produce into preserves or condiments.

At the end of each episode, the experts confer over which pair has blossomed, which pair is beginning to wilt and which pair can’t grow any further. Once a decision has been made, one couple gets the chop and is sent home. Last Tuesday (6 May), mother and daughter Shirley and Victoria were turfed out. They were strong believers in growing their own produce for a healthier lifestyle.

Lee Senior, gardening columnist for The War Cry, explains why growing produce is so popular: ‘The modern generation are warier of having produce from supermarkets that might have been contaminated with chemical sprays. Having an allotment means you can control what you and your family eat.’

Whether we’re green-fingered or prefer to concrete over a lawn, life can sometimes seem like an out-of-control garden. We may be frustrated by waiting for our careers to blossom. We may need to nip bad spending habits in the bud and get our finances in check. Maybe we need to root out the weeds of a broken relationship that contaminate our 
hearts or to water a treasured friendship that has dried up.

Tending to the mess in our lives can be overwhelming. But we can be reassured in knowing that God – the master gardener – is ready to help. Jesus told his disciples: ‘My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit … I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit’ (John 15:1–5 New International Version).

Our personal growth and emotional health are important to God. At times it may be painful, but if we hand our lives over to Jesus, he will prune away all our rotten parts and plant the good fruits of joy, peace and love. As we stay connected to him, we grow. Is it time to let him dig deep?

UK & Ireland War Cry 10 May 2014