By Angela E. Pometto
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 5/12/05)

When St. Ann School in Arlington broke ground for a new rosary garden on March 19, the space behind the school was nothing more than an empty lot. The sparse clippings of grass were barely green and the soil was littered with gravel from the recent parking lot renovation. After six weeks of working with students and families, the community changed the space into a beautiful, child-friendly garden that offers ample sources of meditation on the luminous mysteries of the rosary.

The completed garden was dedicated May 6. Andy Brown, a St. Ann School parent, led the ceremony.

"This space has been transformed by our families for the sake of you, our children, so that you may pray here, play here and learn about the mysteries of our faith and the wonders of God’s creation," he said.

Father William Schardt, pastor, blessed the garden and the children with holy water. Principal Sally Berra read from the book of Genesis about how God created the plant life. Brown then led a reflection on each of the mysteries followed by songs sung by the St. Ann School choir.

Brown explained that the rosary garden is based on John Paul II’s luminous mysteries. These mysteries will help the children reflect on Christ as the "light of the world."

"The luminous mysteries lend nicely to a garden," said Sue Williams, one of the project’s landscape designers. After the death of Pope John Paul II, these mysteries are also a special tribute to the beloved pope, she said.

The families who contributed enough hours were able to decorate stepping stones that served as beads of the decades. It was suggested that the beads have a religious or nature theme along with each family’s name. The statue of Mary is equipped with a solar-powered fountain.

Each of the mysteries is illustrated through the garden’s design, said Brown. The first mystery, Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, is represented by a bridge over a stone pond. The columbine flower symbolizes the Holy Spirit as a dove.

The second mystery, the wedding feast at Cana, is represented by two grape vines to point to the event when Jesus turned water into wine. The proclamation of the kingdom, the third mystery, is shown through a bed of mustard plants.

"A reminder that if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, then nothing will be impossible for you," Brown said.

The transfiguration is depicted in the garden through a bed of goldenrod and alyssum that will bloom bright colors. The final mystery, the institution of the Eucharist, is represented by wheat, used to make bread, and lunaria, which has thin, round, white seed pods that resemble the hosts.

Williams and Carol Rickard were both on the design committee for the garden project. The design team gathered ideas from the Internet, including sites about gardens honoring Mary, Rickard said.

According to Berra, the recent construction of St. Ann Church left many grassy areas on the school grounds that had once been black top. The Parents and Teachers Organization decided that the new areas should be landscaped.

"The garden theme will carry through this year and into next year," she said. The rosary garden is just the first step in a larger project of beautifying more of the space around St. Ann School, said Rickard.

"It’s not just nice to look at, it’s also getting the kids involved," Berra said. Teachers have included gardening lessons into their curriculum, whether through science, math or art.

As the plants continue to grow, the garden will become a habitat for birds and butterflies. Science classes researched what species were attracted to which plants, said Williams.

Families have come together to help as well, whether through providing snacks, babysitting or digging in the garden. According to Williams, more than 50 families helped with the garden and each volunteered anywhere from 10 to 50 hours of work.

The garden was designed for children. Berra hopes that the students will feel it is a place they can enter.

"It’s not something to look at, but something to be a part of," she said.

Each class contributed something to the garden, said Rickard. From kindergarten class "planting" worms to break the soil to the seventh-graders working on the fountain, every class participated. The eighth-graders offered, as their parting gift to the school, a mosaic cross that forms the entrance to the garden.

According to Williams, the kids now line up at recess to enter the garden while parents and parishioners meet on Fridays to walk and pray the rosary.