FLOWER POWER!

The wind rustles through the wild flowers, roses, Gardenias and plants, nudging them to and fro.

Bumble bees pollinate about, buzzing from flower to flower, searching for nectar.

The soothing sound of water trickles from a fountain nearby. Statues of St. Joseph, St. Francis of Assisi and Blessed Mother Mary are surrounded, sometimes enveloped by lush greenery and color. The plantings curve and encircle, taking over parts of the black fence enclosing the 90 feet by 33 feet space.

And oh, the color! Reds, pinks, purples, yellows, lavenders just to name a few, adding a vibrancy and intensity.

This classic English garden and prayer garden has been handcrafted by Father Anthony Barratt, pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Hudson, alongside the rectory on East Allen Street. It is one of three gardens on the premise, with the other two on the opposite side of the rectory. The gardens are a visual and spiritual splendor, that attract parishioners and many visitors.

And on this warm and humid July morning, everything was in full bloom. 

Father Barratt had the idea almost immediately to turn the empty yard next to the rectory into something memorable when he came to the parish in 2017 from St. Ambrose in Latham.

“I saw the beautiful house and saw the potential,” said Father Barratt. “Where the English garden is was just a lawn but really like weeds; you could see the potential there.”

Father Barratt was born in West Wickham, Kent in England where gardening is a national pastime. While he was completing his doctorate in theology, he decided to take a class in gardening at the Royal Horticultural Society in Wisley just up the road from the seminary, earning a Master’s degree in Garden Design. For his garden at Holy Trinity, he sketched out what it would look like on graph paper.

“It’s in your head. I could picture what it looked like and it’s a matter of writing it down on paper,” Father Barratt said. “And having a plan; you need a plan for planting. That’s difficult always to do just straight off. It’s a bit like music, you have it in your head, you just have to write it down, the notation.
“I took measurements and I did a rough plan. The plantings are meant to look very casual, very almost by chance, but actually they are very carefully placed in terms of heights, leaf shapes, color, succession of color in the season.” 

Noticeably absent is the presence of any mulch. 

“In the States people tend to use a lot more mulch. You tend to have more dot planting and mulch around,” added Father Barratt. “A lot of people in England, if they are keen on gardening, which is a national pastime, would have very little mulch.”

In just a short time, the English garden garnered a prestigious honor. Mrs. Greenthumbs Day is a tour of gardens throughout Hudson held every two years and Father Barratt’s creation was one of 21 selected for public view last summer. 

This wasn’t the only impact on the community. 

“It’s a great way for evangelization. I am out there gardening and people will come and chat (and say) ‘So Is the church open? Can we go in?’ ” Father Barratt said. “There’s a good energy and a small part of that is how the place looks. It looks well-maintained and loved. I always try to think if I am going anywhere, what would my impression be of this place? I always ask myself that, and say that to the parishioners. Everyone thinks they are welcoming, but imagine you are a visitor, would you feel welcome?

“It’s not always the big programs. It’s actually personal. Our Lord, his model of evangelization often was one-on-one or a couple of people.”
In trendy Hudson, with its mix of downstaters and locals, art galleries and antique shops, restaurants and pubs, the English garden has made an impact.

“It’s a great way we have reconnected to the city,” Father Barratt said.