The garden outside the GuestBarn is lovingly visioned, planted, and continued by Lynn’s mother, Diana. It’s beautiful space to enjoy a Midwestern thunderstorm rolling in, the bright stars at night, the gas fire pit on cool evenings, or literally just smell the flowers when they’re in full bloom.

The following poem hung in Lynn’s Great-Grandfather’s small greenhouse in Ohio and now hangs in her mom Diana’s home.  Beautiful gardens renew & refresh our soul, heal us from the work on a long day or the hurt of a friend, and remind us of the Creator God who creates beauty that we can enjoy & cultivate but never truly imitate.

We hope you’ll enjoy not only sleeping with the cows but also find what you need for your soul in the garden.

Refuge
By James Mortimer Lewis

When life has been rough
And the contacts have hurt,
I like to get out
And dig in the Dirt
Plant trellises high
Where glories may hold
Their blooms to the sky.

I like to dig deep
And uproot the sod
And clear out the roots
And break up the clod
And plant me some things
To bloom in the spring
Some roses to bloom
Some vines that will cling.

If I could but sing
I’d sing high and low
But since I’ve no voice
I start things to grow,
A rose or a vine,
A shrub or a tree
And then, in the spring
They are singing for me.

And when I get out
And dig in the dirt
Ere long I’ve forgot
I ever was hurt,
And when I have dug
Until it is late
I find that my smile
Is back on my Face