I’m a Midwestern gardener (zone 5a/b) pursuing my love of growing things.

Why is this blog called “Gerd’s Garden”?

One of my favorite topics is old Norse religion and mythology. Iv’e been studying both, both academically and on my own, for over 25 years. Gerd, and her spouse Freyr, are two of my favorite deities in the old Norse pantheon. Their courtship story is told in the saga Skirnismal.

Freyr, to me, is the god of fertility and he represents right relationship with the land–the ultimate example of the Good King, whose reign is filled with peace and plenty, where crops are always abundant and everyone prospers. He is also the antlered wild spirit of the forest, and represents that which is wild, fecund, and untamed.

Gerd, a jotun (“giant”, who normally are the main adversaries of the Norse deities), caught Freyr’s eye as she was walking through her garden in her father’s house. He fell in love with her, and after a stormy courtship, they married. Nowadays, she is often symbolized by that “walled garden” where she dwelled before her marriage to Freyr. To me, she represents the tamed abundance of nature, and their relationship represents both the wild and cultivated abundance nature provides us. And thus the name of my blog. 🙂