Traditionally, to create a Mary Garden, a gardener uses a statue of the Virgin Mary as the focal point, then adds plants dedicated to her by name, legend, or history. In the photo to the left, our Mary statue has graced our garden for the past 30 years.
In 1988, the Cloister that connects the Episcopal Home and St. Andrew's was built. The building project left an enclosed patch of bare earth between the EH and the church. That area was transformed by a group of parishioners who envisioned and created a Mary Garden.
With those original visionary and capable parishioners long gone, our neglected garden became overgrown and unmanageable. Last year, when the EH and St. Andrew's combined efforts to renovate the Cloister area, it became apparent that our garden needed some love.
It was cleared, pruned, thinned and rearranged. A paver walkway was donated, connecting the upper parking lot to the Cloister.
Today, because many of the original plantings are gone and various plants have been added here and there, we cannot not claim that our Mary Garden is comprised completely of traditional plantings. Nevertheless, it remains a beautiful, meditative space, and our little statue of Mary continues to greet our visitors from her space by the Cloister window.