The Little Sisters Need Your Plants

We try to donate as much money and goods as we can to charities near to our hearts, and one such charity is the Little Sisters of the Poor in Richmond, Virginia.

The Little Sisters are a Catholic religious order who work with the elderly poor (not just Catholics; they help all, regardless of religious affiliation). The sisters run a nursing home and hospice in Richmond for the elderly poor, those who have no one to take care of them and no money for traditional services. They run their organization almost entirely on charitable donations of money and goods.

You can sometimes run into the Little Sisters going door to door, actually begging or asking for donations. They still do it this way even in the 21st century as their founder, Saint Jeanne Jugan, did back in Paris in the 1800's.

This month we got their newsletter and noticed a call for donations...including plants! The Sisters are looking for plants to landscape the grounds. Here's the list of what's needed:

• Bleeding Hearts
• Hosta
• Calandiums
• Elephant Ear bulbs
• Ferns
• Peonies
• Butterfly Bushes
• Soil
• Mulch
• Pruning Shears
• Outdoor electrical cords

They also need monetary donations, so if you can spare a bit this month, it's always appreciated. All of the donations go to taking care of the elderly residents and their medical needs (none of the money goes to any other group or back to the Diocese from what I understand).

Looking out over my flower garden, I have about six large Butterfly Bush seedlings - volunteers from the sweetly scented purple one that seeded everywhere. And I mean everywhere! I've got Butterfly bushes popping up in the walkways and all over the yard. If I pot them up now and nurture them, I may just be able to donate them this spring. I'm so excited by this project! Not only can I find a home for those Butterfly bushes, but I can help the Sisters and the elderly in just one more way. My flowers can give joy to the elderly residents in their garden. I love it when I can combine support for Catholic organizations, doing good works AND gardening. Talk about a win-win-win!

Holy Week: The Sound of Silence

The Anchoress | A First Things Blog

I love the blog post (linked above). As we embark on Holy Week, try her suggestion. Try the sound of silence. For me, when I get very quiet, I can hear the small, still voice inside which is intuition - how God speaks to us in our hearts. Although I cannot totally turn off the computer this week (I have to meet client deadlines, for example, and turn my copy in on time), I can do as she suggests. Turn off the television, especially those addictive political talk shows and other talk shows with people yelling at each other over the table. Turn off the radio. Turn off the videos. Turn off the music. Work in silence. Sit in silence. Just breathe, and "be still and know that I am God."

Missing My Garden

This is the time of year when I start to really, really miss my garden. I miss being outside in the sunshine. I miss hearing the sweet trill of birdsong. I miss all the little nuances of color and scent. I'm reading my seed catalogs more frequently these days than my Bible, which probably isn't a good thing.

Sure, there's outside work to do now. But do you ever notice how in the wintertime, any kind of garden chore is a struggle? We tried to fill the next vegetable bed with compost and soil, but the bags of soil and peat moss are frozen so they weigh twice as much. We gave up and figure it can wait until spring; we've got six of the ten raised beds filled and ready.

Walks with Shadow and our afternoon hike are barely fulfilling my longing. Spring seems so far away.

Just a few more weeks until I can turn on the indoor lights for seed starting. A few more weeks of planning, rest and reading. I want to go with the flow of the seasons and use this season as God intended; for planning, and rest. He gave the garden winter so it could rest and prepare for the next season. I'm not good with waiting. But His timing is perfect, so onwards to the next right thing to do today....but I still miss my sunshine.