Seeds of a Garden Party
Community blossoms
with project around St. Patrick’s statue
By Debbie Hovanasian,
Sun Correspondent
In the Weeks to come, that will change
drastically thanks to the efforts of
Committees from the Greenhouse
Initiative and St. Patrick’s in cooperative agreement with Keep Lowell Beautiful,
the
“All roads lead to St. Patrick”, joked
Deb Harding of the Greenhouse Initiative Committee. Harding is spearheading the
St. Patrick effort — of several planned to beautify the Western Canal section
of the city — along with Peg McAndrews and Maureen McNiff,
lay leaders at St. Patrick. Pitching in are several dedicated volunteers.
Each garden will have a different
theme and will consist of a combination of shrubs, perennials and annuals,
explained Harding. It is a vision that many have had for the highly visible
corner lot, but the funding, expertise and effort were not previously
available, McAndrews said.
“I am so excited. We didn’t know hot
to begin — then out of the blue came the Community Greenhouse project,” said
McAndrews. Acknowledging the multiple bags of brush that already had been
removed by the committee, she added, “From the ashes rise the phoenix.”
The Community Greenhouse project was
also a welcome effort for St. Patrick’s pastor, the Rev. James Taggart, who is currently
pursuing the restoration of St. Patrick’s hands by an artisan. “It’s great just
to have people enthusiastic and see something happening,” he said.
Perhaps the most special garden to the
people of St. Patrick will be the first one planted, a
memorial garden for their late groundskeeper Joseph Primeau,
who kept the property well-groomed until his death and was a “good friend to
everyone,” said McAndrews.
Primeau’s
widow donated plants — including one of Primeau’s
favorites from their home garden — and a marble bench has been donated in his
memory, explained McAndrews.
Other benches will be fashioned from
recycled marble culled from former altars at the church — some dating back more
than 100 years, McAndrews said. Recycled a bricks will be used as stepping
stones, and thanks to the volunteer efforts of Dave McKay of McKay Contracting,
a gazebo will be constructed using recycled wood removed from the church
basement following last year’s flooding.
Once a condemned three-story building
adjacent to the garden is razed for additional parking, McAndrews envisions a “beautiful”
place for photos following the church’s celebrations, including weddings, First
Communions, baptisms and Confirmations. The removal of the building will also
allow a stunning view from the garden of the impressing gold dome of the
Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, whose ancestors started out worshipping
in the basement of St. Patrick Church.
The fact that everything has suddenly
fallen into place has led several committee members to believe that this
project was simply meant to be. “We are being led through this. We’ve been
getting everything we need,” enthused Harding.
McAndrews describes it as “miraculous.”
“This will be a community garden built
in the community by the community, using recyclable materials — an incredible space
for everyone to enjoy,” added Harding.
Harding stresses that with the
exception of the grant, which supports only labor costs at their Aiken Street
Community Gardens Greenhouse, everything has been donated. The committee
continues to welcome monetary donations, volunteer
labor, materials, or plants purchased either at garden centers or shared from
home gardens.
“We’ll take anything anyone wants to
donate,” Harding said with a smile.
A wish list is posted at http://www.communitygardensgreenhouse.org
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