I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded.
Garden of nuts. The bride's words; for she everywhere is the narrator, and often soliloquises, which He never does. The first garden (Song of Solomon 2:11-13) was that of spring, full of flowers, green figs, and tender grapes not yet ripe. The second garden was that of autumn, with spices (which are always connected with the person of Jesus Christ), and nothing unripe, (Song of Solomon 4:13, etc.) The third here is that of "nuts," from the previous autumn; the end of winter, and verge of spring: the Church in the upper room (Acts 1:13, etc.), when one dispensation was just closed, the other not yet begun; the hard shell of the old needing to be broken, and its inner sweet kernel extracted (Origen) (Luke 24:27; Luke 24:32); waiting for the Holy Spirit to usher in spiritual spring. The walnut is meant, with a bitter outer husk, a hard shell, and sweet kernel. So the Word is distasteful to the careless; when awakened, the sinner finds the letter hard, until the Holy Spirit reveals the sweet inner spirit.
Fruits of the valley. Maurer translates 'the blooming products of the river' (Hebrew, naachal (H5158)) - i:e., the plants growing on the margin of the river flowing through the garden. She goes to watch the first sproutings of the various plants.