Warsaw Biblical Gardens will open for the 2013 season Monday, offering 120 different plant species. Pardee Gunter is the head gardner in his third summer at Central Park. Gunter received his Master Gardner certificate from Purdue University. Gunter’s wife, Toshiko, was the head gardener for 10 years at Warsaw Biblical Gardens. Three summers ago, Pardee Gunter took over the Biblical Gardens job. Toshiko is now the head gardner for the Gardens of Central Park. Warsaw Biblical Garden is open seven days a week, from dawn to dusk, beginning Monday to Oct. 15. Gunter leads guided tours of the garden. Groups from churches and Master Gardner Club groups are among some of the many organizations who visit the garden. There are three weddings that have been scheduled in the garden this summer. Gunter said he expects to have 10 to 15 tours scheduled. Besides local people, visitors from Michigan and Ohio also tour the garden. “If the plants are inside the walls of the garden, there has to be a connection to the Bible before I can plant it,” Gunter said. “This is a place of serenity and a place to get in touch with a part of the Bible that you may not normally get in touch with, learning about the history of the plants from biblical times.” Gunter said plants performed a vital role in the Bible. He said the garden is non-denominational and there are some plants in the garden that are only specific to the Catholic religion. In the summertime, hollyhocks, flowering plants, come up in the garden that are mentioned in the book of Job. The story of Moses mentions bullrushes, and there are cattails, tall and stiff plants, that grow to 10 feet. Zacchaeus climbed the Sycamore tree in the Bible, and the garden has a Sycamore tree. There also are roses and Solomon in the Bible loved roses, Gunter said. Gunter said he planted an almond tree last week that will join two almond trees in the garden. He also planted 200 tulip bulbs that are red, white and yellow in the fall that he is waiting to see bloom. There is an herbs area in the garden that is mentioned in the Bible, and there are perennials that grow year to year. He will plant flax this spring. Linen is a fabric woven from flax plants, and baby Jesus was wrapped in it. The garden has two willow trees mentioned in the Bible. Gunter said volunteers provide funding for the plants, and volunteers assist him in planting items in the garden as well as one of his students. Warsaw Parks Department employees assist with pump maintenance for the water fountain in the garden. When people visit the garden, they can receive an audio tour of the garden on their cell phone by calling 574-344-4080. For a guided tour, call 574-267-6218.
