"Mary is a garden of delights into which are sown all kinds of flowers and spice plants of the virtues.” — St. Jerome.

By now, we are all preparing our gardens in some way; planning, cleaning, pulling, sharpening, trimming, dumping, fixing and planting. Our reward, after our Colorado winter, is a rich, healthy glow of green. All we have to do is look around and feel the excitement of a new season. Here are a few suggestions to keep the garden in tip-top shape and at the same time honor Mary, Our Blessed Mother.

All Sundays this April are named Easter — Second Sunday of Easter, Third Sunday of Easter, Fourth and Fifth Sundays of Easter. It’s a Christian’s dream, a continued celebration that Christ is Risen! He died for our sins and really, what more could we ever ask for? As humans, it seems, there’s always more to ask for. Some of our “asks” are very serious: “Please God, send a cure for cancer.” “Please God, forgive me.” And others are less serious but still important. For Colorado gardeners, a common petition is, “Please God send us rain for our gardens.”

Finally on the gardener’s calendar comes March. New plants are breaking through the soil and days are warming up. After all, it is the season of resurrection! Christians around the world are celebrating Holy Week and are preparing for Easter. It is truly a blessed time of year. 

Gardening in containers is an excellent choice for almost every gardener.  Containers can be used in many places — a large patio, or a small patio, a bare spot or a shared spot. Containers are especially great for parishioners with limited space and where traditional gardens are not possible. Those of us who live in apartments or are renting have the perfect solution in container gardening. They also work beautifully in areas that have poor soil or if there aren’t any means to do landscaping and upkeep.