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When the master gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County sponsor their annual garden tour July 7, the gardens at St. Michael the Archangel parish in Troy will be part of it.

St. Michael's is the only church featured on the self-guided tour amid a list of about a dozen home gardens in the greater North Greenbush area.

That's a source of pride for the parish at large, and specifically for parishioner Teresa Murphy, a CCE master gardener who helped organize the creation of the parish's memorial garden several years ago.

"My mother was big into gardening," Mrs. Murphy told The Evangelist. "I just had it in me. I would help her when I was younger."

Inch by inch, row by row
As a young adult, Mrs. Murphy had potted plants on the windowsills of her apartments. It wasn't until she got married and bought a house that she was able to expand her "garden" into her backyard.

"I just went crazy," she admitted. Her flourishing home garden is now geared to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Mrs. Murphy is named after St. Therese of Lisieux, who's known as "the Little Flower." The saint inspired Mrs. Murphy in her gardening pursuits at home and at St. Michael's.

St. Michael's parish garden began in 2011 with help from both Mrs. Murphy and a young parishioner who was looking for a service project to earn his Eagle Scout rank in the Boy Scouts of America.

The parish garden includes the original bell from the former St. Michael's Church, which was lost to a fire in South Troy in 1978. The garden also features various plants and flowers in memory of deceased parishioners and loved ones.

"It makes me feel good to plant in memory of somebody," Mrs. Murphy said. Adding small markers beside the flowers that include the person's name "keeps the person's memory alive."

The gardener added plants at St. Michael's in memory of her parents and the sons of a close friend.

Garden group
Mrs. Murphy is far from the only gardener caring for St. Michael's plants and flowers. Members of the parish Women's Guild are actively involved with the garden.

"We have a list of people that come to water it," said Sister Katherine Arseneau, CSJ, parish life director. "If I come back [at night] for a meeting, I see them pulling weeds and watering the garden.

"Often times, I see people sitting out there praying the Rosary," she continued, and the garden is used for a ceremony to honor veterans on Memorial Day.

St. Michael's garden features benches, birdbaths and a pergola in memory of Deacon Frank Yankowski, who died of cancer in 2013.

"We have hydrangeas, rosebushes, a butterfly bush," recited Mrs. Murphy, naming just a few of the perennials included in the garden. The gardeners also plant plenty of annuals to brighten it up.

Mrs. Murphy says that pulling weeds is a good stress reliever and watering the plants is "quality time" spent looking at all the flowers.

"I have people stop and say, 'Oh, it's beautiful," she told The Evangelist. "It makes me feel good that people are using it and enjoying it."

Parish pride
This is the first time St. Michael's parish garden will be featured on the garden tour. Sister Kate said the parishioners are excited to showcase their work.

The master gardeners at CCE travel around the area every year scoping out home gardens and recruiting gardeners and their work for the tour. Each year, the tour features a different part of Rensselaer County.

"It's a fundraiser for us," Mrs. Murphy explained. "We have them open their backyards or gardens to the public."

The tour is self-guided. After picking up tickets, patrons get a map of the gardens and drive themselves to each location. Gardeners are stationed at all the sites to answer questions.

Sister Kate noted that it's always nice to have people see the beautiful grounds of the parish.

Plants, Mrs. Murphy added, are "God's creation.

"It's a nice reverence to Jesus. I like to make the church look good for the parishioners. I enjoy doing gardening because I like to take care of the nature God gave us."[[In-content Ad]]

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