Early Spring at the Grotto

Joe asked if I wanted to go over to the Grotto before it got dark. We hadn't checked on it up close since winter. We found that everything had come through our very cold and snowy winter...just fine. The picture below is Joe using a whisk broom...dusting beneath the statue. He brought the leaf blower, but he found that it wasn't needed. Everything was tidy. These pictures are dark, because of the hour they were taken. The gardens had been newly mulched. Enough mulch to cover the tulip bulbs that were planted in the fall. They will have to push up through a thick layer of mulch, I'm afraid. We planted Red Riding Hood tulips. Smaller in size, red in color, and a nice border plant.

We decided to plant lantana again this year. They did so well last year. Dusty miller did well too. The picture below is of the budded pear tree. There hangs the little partridge that I hung at Christmas time. Soon the two trees will be full of white blossoms.

The grasses are coming along, behind the Grotto. They should be bigger and pretty this year.I saw some lilies breaking ground too.

I planted six red knockout roses here. As you can just see the tiny red tips of new growth. They were pruned and look so wonderful. They were beautiful last year. I'm so glad that they came through the winter OK. We mulched them with leaves...putting a mound around each bush. The leaf mulch was removed when the garden was just mulched.

We sat on a bench and looked at the names on the pavers beneath us. Names of our family members are there to remind us of the days when they were part of our lives. Many people have purchased pavers...we hope that all the pavers will have names on them before long. Quite a few people stop here to meditate, pray, or just to rest and enjoy nature. It is becoming a favorite backdrop for 1st Communion, Confirmation, and we hope wedding pictures.This Grotto was built just last year, so it is a new addition to our Church grounds. Joe had it built and donated it to our Church. He drew up the first plans for it and hired the men to build it. He spent everyday, during it's construction, sitting on a lawn chair and supervising the building of it. Now it's there for anyone to use.

Balisha