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Collaborating with the Guadalupe Garden improvements
7/19/2010 10:59:00 AM
By Jim Collins
 | | The Beautiful Mosaic of Guadalupe has finally be returned to her garden throne! |  |  | | Imagine Evergreen shrubs highlighting this beautiful chapel. Boxwood and Hydrangea | |  | | Imagine "opening" this garden to welcome foot traffic into this natural shrine. Our Lady of Guadalupe will care for the security and well being of the garden and guests. | |  | | Imagine pavers and benches extending a welcome to visitors instead of an uninviting fence and wall. | |  | | notice the large overgrown ewe bush has been removed - making way for new plants | |  | | Mr Rick Heilman and Fr Jim Collins admiring the new tuck-pointing on the face of the Chapel. American Fence Association made the donation to make this possible. | |  | | see the new gate and the newly tuck-pointed chapel. Looking Good! | |  | | |  | See that we have taken out the old black cyclone fence along the sidewalk to open up the views.
There are also arbor Vitae Emerald tall evergreen shrubs planted along the base of the church. | |  | | This bench is a perfect spot to sit and reflect on the beauty of the Garden. | | olg-garden-plans.pdf
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A Welcoming Parish Goes Green
One of the best treasures in our parish is the beautiful rose garden in front of the chapel. It has been named the "Guadalupe Garden" since the beautiful mosaic image of Our Lady of Guadalupe once again stands guard over the natural shrine. Hopefully you have noticed the recent enhancements to the garden.
Our hope is that this garden demonstrates our parish mission - being welcoming and open to all who are willing to join us in celebrating the Glory of God. We feel that this garden has great potential to evangelize the neighborhood. Being on a high traffic sidewalk, many of our new neighbors might spend a few reflective moments in the natural shrine and their souls would be lifted up to God.
If we seek to be a Church that is welcoming then we will need to remove the barriers that inhibit a warm welcome. After consulting with many parishioners, we hope to "open up" the garden space by removing the concrete and steel fence along the 18th St. sidewalk. We will install pavers or decorative concrete to create a plaza/zocolo that welcomes admirers into this sacred green space. Benches and space for temporary tents could easily be set up for Sunday Enchilada Sales. We imagine a place where passer by's might sit on benches for a reflective meditation of God's beauty manifest in nature. We hope that our parishioners and street vendors would use the space to "convivir" together after Mass. We imagine setting up tents for Sunday Enchilada sales. This might be a "gathering place" where we can create and strengthen our sense of "community".
Some parishioners fear that if the fence comes down then the garden treasure would be vandalized or that unwelcome guests might sleep on the benches or litter the yard. We must be careful not to let our fears inhibit our welcoming others. Our neighborhood is much safer than it used to be. People respect the church more than other public places. God's natural beauty could be better appreciated if it was not locked off in a cage. The Virgin will safeguard the garden and give us the faith to take this risk to welcome strangers into our parish.
Last fall, the breathtakingly beautiful mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe was removed because its cement altar frame was deteriorating. Since then there has been an outpouring of generosity by concerned parishioners who want the Virgin returned to her garden throne! The Guadalupana Society has raised money to rehabilitate the raised beds. We received a donation from an anonymous donor at St Elizabeth Seton Parish. We received a donation from a Jesuit Novice on pilgrimage.
Finally we received a very generous donation from Mr. Rick Hielman of Industrial Fence Inc and the American Fence Association. They donated the fancy antique metal fence gate between the chapel and church and financed the tuck pointing of the face of the chapel.
We have had the opportunity to have free labor for many of our summer projects. We are a host employer for the stimulus program called "Put Illinois To Work." The workers are paid by the State but work with us full time. Their skilled labor has helped us to accomplish many overdue maintenance projects including the remodeling of the Parish Office entrance and the school kitchen.
Fr Don Rowe, SJ was consulted to help develop a master plan for the landscaping of the Guadalupe Garden. Fr Rowe left his landscaping legacy at St Ignatius College Prep where he was President. He has carefully selected just the right plants to create a coordinated landscape. He even arranged for a donation of plants.
And now . . . it's your turn. We have a comprehensive design plan with specific plants that we seek. You can plant your legacy in this communal garden by purchasing, and even planting some of these plants. Your family will be able to proudly identify your specific contribution for years to come. Many of these shrubs are on sale at local Home Depot or garden centers. This list includes plants and shrubs for our school's newly remodeled entrance plaza green-space. Please contact me, Fr Jim Collins, if you have questions or if you are interested in collaborating in our gardens.
Requested Donations for Guadalupe Garden:
1 Japanese Maple tree. 7' tall. ($110)
2 ea Arbor Vitae Emerald - thuja smargd. 6' tall. ($54)
10 ea Pink or Red "Knock Out" Shrub Rose. Not the "double" ($25)
4 ea Miscanthus sinensis (Dizieland) ($20) striped jumbo grass
4 ea Miscanthus sinensis (Malepartus) ($20) jumbo grass
4 ea Blue Russian Sage Grass - Pervoskia Atriplicifdia ($13)
2 ea Rose of Sharon, Minerva ($42)
1 ea weigela Shining Sensation ($27)
3 ea Wigelea, Fine wine, Ghost ($9)
6 ea Boxwood evergreen shrub
3 ea Hydrangea - Pink Diamond Paniculata
3 ea Hydrangea - Oak Leaf Snow Queen quercifolia
4 ea Grow Low Sumac
Requested Donations for School Entrance Garden:
Viburnum flowering shrub (4 ea.);
Prunus cistena - Purpleleaf Sand Cherry tree (1 ea); reddish-purple foliage
Syringa meyeri Meyer Lilac Shrub (1 ea);
Hydrangea (2 ea) varieties
Taxus-Yew, Thuja Evergreen shrubs (1 ea);
Spiraea shrub (1 ea);
Rhus Grow Low small shrub (1 ea)
Please contact Fr Jim Collins for more information.
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