THIS WEEKEND: JULY 30-31, CELEBRATE BUFFALO IN BLOOM AND GARDENWALK BUFFALO WITH A VISIT TO THE SECRET GARDENS AT SJK!

Both Buffalo in Bloom and Gardenwalk Buffalo will be in full swing this weekend! In concert with both of these organizations, a very small group of indiviuals at SJK has   for the past three years been promoting the concept to encourage neighborhood beautification and community pride. This weekend before or after Mass, really any time, you are invited to enjoy the gardens on our grounds…take a few minutes to enjoy the peace and solitude: you may even see a butterfly or hear the tinkling of the windchime.

Our most visible garden is The Mary Garden, on the corner of Brownell and Broadway, the site of the former St John Kanty School. This garden was totally refurbished in May 2014 as The Mary Project, with support from Alumni & Friends. This Spring the bulbs and plants from Easter were added. Additional perennials will be planted this Fall.

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The Garden of St Jude is located between the Rectory and the back of the church. Over the past three years it has been reworked extensively, removing several overgrown evergreens and planting Spring bulbs, Easter lillies and perennials. Starting in the Spring the perennials provide a rotating bloom. This year ‘volunteer’ sunflowers are very abundant, surrounding St Jude. 

St Jude

St Jude

Proceeding towards Kanty’s Kitchen, you will get to the Convent yard, where St Therese watches over our bed of annuals, which this year are multicolored petunia. Perennials have also been added to the bed to the left of St Therese.

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St Therese

 

Going further into the yard towards Brownell St, you will see another Mary Garden, with our old Mary statue  and primarily blue flowering perennials. 

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Mary

This year an additional garden has been planted at the far end of the yard.  The flowers planted there are known to thrive in shade. There are also a few berry bushes remaining from the gardening efforts of Fr Antoni Lutostanski. Below is a hosta an a dusty miller.

A project for later this Fall is to clean out and rework the overgrown Garden of St Francis, originally the parish’s Peace Garden (established in the 1980’s), and plant perennials, although perhaps not until the Spring of 2017. This will be a large undertaking, and if anyone is interested in lending a hand, it would be greatly appreciated. 

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St Francis

Not to be forgotten is the assistance provided by  the leaders and scouts of Troop 107 in removing the shrubs from the planters at the Broadway entrance (the planters now hold hosta, day lillies and sedum…they don’t look like much now but should be quite lovely next year!). The troop also spent time removing overgrowth from the rear of the former school building, a never ending project! THANK YOU TROOP 107!!

The Garden Committee (Angelina Kubik, Julie Ulicki and Judy Felski) works Saturday mornings from Spring through Fall, as well as other times as needed during the week. Anyone is welcome to come and lend a hand and ideas; there is always enough work to be done!!

Below is a link to additional photos of the SJK gardens on Facebook…you do not need to be a FB member to access the photos: