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Catherine Castle

~ Romance for the Ages

Catherine Castle

Tag Archives: An Unpresentable Glory

A Writer’s Garden–Gardens I have Visited by Ellie Gustafson

22 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by Catherine Castle in A Writer's Garden, garden blog series

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

A Writer's Garden, An Unpresentable Glory, Ellie Gustafson, garden pictures

I LOVE gardens! They inspire me, but my own efforts seldom come close to grand displays that others have produced. Well, perhaps one of my flowers… God designed it; I simply provided the trellis.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Nelly Moser clematis

 

In our travels, we have visited

  • Queen Victoria Park at Niagara Falls
  • Callaway Gardens in Georgia
  • Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia
  • Some glorious gardens in England and Scotland.

Every UK castle has a garden, and to my husband’s consternation, I felt impelled to look closely. I’m sure his patience has been noted in heaven. I loved Ballindalloch Castle in Scotland, with its charming rock garden, and was greeted by Her Ladyship as she came outdoors to view the day.

I can’t remember the name of one particular garden in England, but it’s firmly etched in my memory. This visit followed a string of other gardens, and being tired, the entrance put me off—sort of a fenced area that reminded me of a large potting shed. But when the door to the garden swung open, I was totally undone. I took pictures—pre-digital, of course—and now I CAN’T FIND THEM! But I remember that glorious scene, and that’s enough.

I can no longer manage gardening, except in a limited way, but I can feast on God’s splendid displays along roadsides and meadows. No weeding, no watering; God does it all!

 

Black-eyed Susans

Golden rod

Grasses

Another wrinkle—Stage-4 lung cancer; terminal by its very nature—has mucked up my “garden.” I’ve just started an alternative treatment (inquire, if you’re interested). Whether this approach works or not doesn’t really matter. I have placed myself totally in God’s hands. At some point, life may begin to resemble that large, ugly potting shed, but when the Great Gate opens, I will see, not only the most gorgeous landscape one could ever imagine, but will be drawn into that splendor by the Gardener Himself. “Come in! WELCOME TO MY WORLD!”

Robert Berran, with permission.

In my novel, An Unpresentable Glory, gardener Linda Jensen has the advantage of wealth and skilled labor. I’m not in her class, but the novel is worth a read, if only to see what sort of garden hard work and money can produce. A strong, gripping love story that appeals to men, as well as to women.

 

About the Writer/Gardener

Ellie Gustafson began thinking up stories at a young age but did not begin writing and publishing until 1978. A graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois, she has been actively involved in church life as a minister’s wife, teacher, musician, writer, and encourager. Additional experiences include gardening, house construction, tree farming, mouse control, and parenting–all of which have helped bring color and humor to her fiction. One of her major writing goals has been to make scriptural principles understandable and relevant for today’s readers through the undeniable power of story.

Personal themes crop up in her novels:
* An Unpresentable Glory–her love of gardening and American Indians. She even made a 15′ tepee!
* Dynamo builds off her lifelong love of horses.
* The Stones, on King David, grew out of the inherent power of his story in the Bible.

You can find all of Ellie’s books on her Amazon Page: www.amazon.com/author/eleanorgustafson

 

An Unpresentable Glory

by Ellie Gustafson

“I trusted you, and some day, you may know just how much you hold in your hands.”

Linda Jensen leads a relatively quiet life in Westchester County, New York, as the owner of a highly-acclaimed garden. Inherited from her parents, the garden is her pride and joy. What is not so joyful is finding a strange man sprawled near her delphiniums! The mysterious man is sick, unable to do anything more than drink water—and beg for secrecy. Ignoring all alarm bells, Linda sees to his needs, but her caring act takes on unexpected significance, an unpresentable glory.

Seeds of trust, and perhaps love, are planted in Linda’s garden haven. But as secrets are revealed and scandal hits the headlines, the act of caring for this man threatens to tarnish both of their reputations.

Like weeds in Linda’s garden, circumstances threaten to choke out their fledgling relationship, and small moments prove to be the biggest influencers—on a national scale.

An Unpresentable Glory is available at https://tinyurl.com/y9lpft6a

 

 

 

A Writer’s Garden-Ellie Gustafson Shares Her Garden Stories

26 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by Catherine Castle in A Writer's Garden, garden blog series

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

A Writer's Garden, An Unpresentable Glory, Author Catherine Castle's garden blog, Chistian fiction, Ellie Gustafson

Welcome to A Writer’s Garden where writers who are gardeners or just love gardens will be sharing their garden and flower stories, as well as a bit about their writing gardens—aka their books.

Today’s guest is Ellie Gustafson, who will be sharing her gardening story and her newest book garden story, where the heroine, Linda, has an award-winning garden with an unexpected visitor. Welcome, Ellie!

 

Beginner garden

God planted a gardening seed in my soul–perhaps genetically. An aunt routinely won blue ribbons at the local flower show. When I showed interest in flowers, I was granted a small patch, perhaps two by three feet, to plant johnny jump ups and small marigolds. My tiny arrangements got only token ribbons, but I was hooked.

 First rose garden

As a teenager, I fell in love with roses. I dug a bed, maybe 6 x 6, in the middle of the lawn and planted some beauties. It was, however, a bittersweet experience. My parents were not getting on, and the little picket fence my father provided for the bed was frowned on by my mother. I didn’t know how to handle it, so after I left for college, the roses bit the dust.

Wedding flowers

Daughter Rachel planned an unusual wedding. The church was empty of flowers, with only a number of sheet-covered boxes up front. During the Pachelbel Canon processional, assorted friends carried in vased flowers and set them on boxes. Then came the wedding party, with Rachel carrying a large bouquet of just-picked flowers from my best-ever annual garden.

During the ceremony, one of the bridesmaids noted a spider exploring Rachel’s veil—making her spider-wed!

Shrinking gardens

As life went on, strength and energy dictated a slowdown of gardening. Today, after a frigid winter, even my beloved roses took a hit. The perennials are still there, but so are weeds. Thus, my focus has turned to………

Linda’s garden

Linda Jensen of Westchester County, New York, has a magnificent spread. She says, “I was born rich, and my parents loved flowers. My entire life centered on pulling weeds. My mother took me from the cradle and plunked me down with clear orders: ‘Pull this, but not this.’”

In one of her blogs, Linda focuses on weeds:

Go for a walk along a country road and search for plants we commonly call weeds. Note which ones like to hang out in your garden. Study them closely. They self-select their location, putting down roots in the most hospitable conditions. Your garden suits them well, and there they grow into sturdy little fellows that are neither fussy nor fragile—just happy to settle into your space. Dandelions, clover, assorted grasses—these guys are quick to flourish and tough to dislodge from our manicured beds.

What can we learn from these lowborn beauties? Maybe nothing. Maybe we just breathe in their simple charm and then go home and dutifully hold the hands of the elegant darlings we have chosen to showcase in our gardens. We pay a high price for our sort of beauty; weeds simply are.

Weeds simply are. We all must deal with weeds—in our gardens, in our lives. But a day is coming when weeds will be forever gone. Might we call Jesus the Good Gardener, as well as the Good Shepherd?

About the Writer/Gardener

  • Ellie Gustafson
  • *Born in a NJ county that had more cows than people.
  • *Went to Wheaton College IL.
  • *Married a multi-tasker, 3 kids, 8 grands.
  • *Tried on the cloak of writing; found it fit well.
  • *God first touched me through story, and he still speaks through story. I love Him passionately.

I write contemporary, literary fiction, and aside from the unpresentable theme of the novel, the heat level is pretty low. Heat, yes, but carefully contained.

Connect with Elli at her website: www.eleanorgustafson.com/

An Unpresentable Glory

By Ellie Gustafson

“I trusted you, and some day, you may know just how much you hold in your hands.”

Linda Jensen leads a relatively quiet life in Westchester County, New York, as the owner of a highly-acclaimed garden. Inherited from her parents, the garden is her pride and joy. What is not so joyful is finding a strange man sprawled near her delphiniums! The mysterious man is sick, unable to do anything more than drink water—and beg for secrecy. Ignoring all alarm bells, Linda sees to his needs, but her caring act takes on unexpected significance, an unpresentable glory.

Seeds of trust, and perhaps love, are planted in Linda’s garden haven. But as secrets are revealed and scandal hits the headlines, the act of caring for this man threatens to tarnish both of their reputations. Like weeds in Linda’s garden, circumstances threaten to choke out their fledgling relationship, and small moments prove to be the biggest influencers—on a national scale.

An Unpresentable Glory is available at Amazon

 

 

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