Thorn, fire, and lily - Jane Mossendew

A Lenten book for those who like to see God in nature and who understand that the Church's year is based on nature's cycles. "Thorn, Fire and Lily" covers the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday and gives practical proof of the close link between prayer and gardening. Jane Mossendew's introduction explains how the book's featured plants - one for each day - illuminate Lenten themes like prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Plants also are featured for the Solemnities and Saints' days between March 10 and April 25, making 45 entries total. Cultivation notes, history and lore, Bible readings, intercessions and places of spiritual retreat are provided for each entry, and line drawings illustrate lesser known or threatened plants and those for Annunciation and Easter. "Thorn, Fire and Lily" demonstrates in ways both practical and loving the closeness of God and nature and how love of one brings love of the other within easy grasp. Jane Mossendew is a teacher and lecturer who divides her time between London and a rural retreat in France. She is the author of "Gardening with God", also published by Continuum.