Blessing of church gardens to showcase themes, beauty

A garden can provide a quiet respite from the day's woes, invoke spiritual awareness and serve as a sanctuary in times of grief. The gardens at The Church of Our Savior on Columbia Road are designed with all of these in mind.

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The church will showcase its more than 20 gardens during a program at 6 p.m. today, where the gardens will be blessed. Background music will be provided by parish musicians as each garden is visited individually.

"Each garden is themed," said parishioner Frankie Rush Nevins. "We bless them every spring. We've been doing this for 10 years or so."

The gardens hold specific meanings for those who oversee them. For those entering the church, a strawberry garden maintained by Denise Aldrich provides a sweet fruit that "brings joy, and so does the sweetness of knowing you are always welcome at Church of Our Savior," she said. The herb garden, maintained by Dea Bentley and Claudia Alexander, is there for all parishioners to enjoy.

"Any time a parishioner needs some mint or rosemary, or whatever, they are welcome to pick from the garden," Nevins said.

Another garden, the Church of Our Savior Memorial Garden in front of the church, is the first most people see as they pass the church. Maintained by Pat Knox-Hudson and Jeff Tilden, the garden surrounds a large cross draped during Lent and Holy Week with colorful fabric. The memorial garden was constructed in 1992 as part of a larger church expansion and paid for by gifts from donors. The plants change throughout the year, but perennials and annuals are always in bloom throughout the year.

Among other gardens on the church campus are the Choir Garden, Summer Garden, Angel Garden, Daughters of the King Garden, the New Memorial Garden, the St. Christopher Garden, the Azalea Garden, the Garden of the Cross, the Boy Scout Garden, the Trinity Garden and the Iris Garden.

Former Scout leader Pat Walters maintains the Boy Scout Garden with his wife, Nancy, while Fran and Ron Weber oversee the Garden of the Cross. In the latter, a stone bench allows visitors to rest and enjoy the beauty there.

For information, call the church at (706) 863-1718.