Gardening

The Gardening team develops and maintains the gardens and flora surrounding St. Peter’s Church, including the Cloister Garden between the kitchen and the offices.
While the Property/Men’s Committee mows the grass, annually mulches and trims the hedges and selected bushes, the Gardening team is responsible for weeding, planting, transplanting, and designing new beds, including the Maggie’s Garden and the Pollinator Garden along the north side of the parking lot.

The Gardening team is led by Karen Reid email: [email protected] and currently has 10 other members: Judy Ripley, Robert Gauthier, Leo Guen, Anne Andrews, John Andrews, Kelly Smyth, Donna Cleary, Kate McCue, Bonnie Elliott, and Allison Duncan.
They usually meet Saturday mornings, regularly during April, May, June, September and October, with occasional other work days offseason and in summer.

The major projects in 2024 have been:

The makeover of the front garden – removing decades old cypress, holly and boxwood, and the installation of winterberry, false cypress, and vinca ground cover.
The renovation of the Cloister Garden – transplanting boxwood to the beds flanking the church’s front door, transplanting azaleas to Maggie’s Garden, moving a barberry bush to the garage, and re-positioning the statues of Mary and two cherubim. The goal is to provide a pleasant space for children’s lessons in the West Cloister Garden by the summer of 2025.
Following the successful installation of air conditioning in the nave, the screening the condenser units from street view, starting with the planting of a crepe myrtle in the West Garden.