ST. MARY'S PRAYER GARDEN BLOSSOMS
Thursday, July 20th, 2006 -- 12:23 PM
The Prayer Garden at St. Mary?s Church started small, but has really blossomed ? literally and figuratively ? over the past few years.Kathy Hart chairs St. Mary?s Garden Committee. Ground was broken in May 2003.
?Neillsville has been working so hard to make it a beautiful city? it?s a beautiful place to drive through. It stimulated several parishioners into ?why don?t we do something?,? Hart says.
One day, the talking turned to action.
The Church used the remnants of an old sidewalk to construct pathways.
Since 2003, the garden has grown by leaps and bounds. Now featuring many perennials and annuals, arbors and even a water feature, dug by hand by Father Woodrow Pace.
?Father was going to put a plant in and started digging the hole and ran into a very large rock. By the time he got the rock out, he had a nice hole dug,? Hart remembers. ?I?m not sure, you?d have to ask him, but I think that?s where the idea evolved.?
?He dug that pond by shovel. It took him all year.?
The garden is divided into lots. Some are maintained by non-parishioners leading Hart to call it an ?ecumenical? garden.
Oh, and more hands are always welcome.
?They can come up here anytime Thursday night after six. If they enjoy it and would like to be a part of it, we have beds available.?
The group hopes to eventually add electricity, steps and a handicap accessible path to the Prayer Garden.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.