Church Breezeway Garden
Bringing back nature to the urban core
In the Spring of 2021 our church bulletin highlighted the following notice - “Volunteers needed to help maintain gardens”. I thought that sounded like a nice way to use my gardening skills and spend a few hours giving back to the community. Little did I know, but probably should have anticipated, it would turn into something more than pulling a few weeds. I volunteered to renovate a neglected raised garden atop a five foot rock wall (see photo). The 3’ x 120’ space featured a few brave hostas and a lot of poor soil. I started by amending the soil with hundreds of pounds of a compost/manure mixture. I then created a design to divide the 120’ length into 12 - ten foot sections, delineating each with section with small evergreen shrubs.
Starting with just a few scattered hostas and a lot of poor soil
Throughout the Year
Winter
I designed the breezeway garden to include evergreens and perennials with winter structure. It’s important to have something to look at, aside from the bare ground, during the Winter months. Snow crowning the dried flowerheads of these two hydrangea bushes provides visual interest during these less colorful days in the garden.
Summer
The color palette for the walkway garden is predominantly pinks and purples. I chose these calmer colors since many parishioners walk by the garden on their way to Mass. A number of parishioners have mentioned how the flowers help put them into a more contemplative space as they prepare to worship.
Spring
The gardening year begins in the raised bed with spring bulbs, including daffodils and Spanish bluebells, as well as a carpet of creeping phlox.
