Loving our outdoor spaces

During the pandemic, we used a full-grown Linden as a prayer tree. (Neighbours adding prayer ribbons).

We still use her (yes, we call her Linden, she/her)!

We created a labyrinth on the north lawn in front of the church. It has been used by neighbours, acts as a calm gathering spot before and after funerals. We held outdoor worship on it during the pandemic, when we were not permitted to be inside.

We’d been growing vegetables, and annual pollinator plants in two raised beds, since 2015. In 2023 we converted this space to partner with the local Food Bank to become a crop-grower for organic fresh produce for the food bank (lettuce, arugula, kale, squash, tomatoes, peppers, peas, beans). This partnership brings together volunteers from within the congregation, a professional garden team, and volunteers from the neighbourhood.

A rockery had become unsafe and unsightly, and one of the lawns would constantly cause flooding in our basement during Quebec thunderstorms. Both areas were re-landscaped, creating a rain garden (which has stopped the flooding by taking the water away from the building, replacing the lawn with creeping thyme. And in 2022 we began our “Healing Garden”, in which we are mixing indigenous-to-the-region plantings, and plants known for their healing or nourishing properties, including three sisterscorn/squash beans.