Maintaining gardens at Bluffton church is a labor of love

By Katherine Mace

Contributor

“The gardens add beauty and invite people to stop, and members to get more involved with the church. I see folks pulling weeds, and building fellowship and relationships, and our kids feel a sense of ownership. It is a beautiful way to be aware.”

With these words, the pastor, Rev. Scarlett Hester, described the gardens at Bluffton United Methodist Church, located at 101 Calhoun St. in Old Town.

At the helm of nurturing the 11 gardens on the church grounds are Tom and Barbara McCann, Sun City residents and church members.

Tom, a Master Gardener through the Clemson Extension Program and leader of the team of about eight volunteer gardeners, has been involved with creating and shepherding these gardens for more than four years.

Developing the gardens involved buying some plants; but there was a great deal of transplanting and repurposing of plants already onsite.

“We found about 450 liriope behind some bushes and we transplanted them,” Tom said. “We also transplanted 29 fully grown azaleas, boxwood, and camellias – and they all made it! The trick is to make the hole square and four times larger than the root ball. You need lots of water for transplants.”

The resulting gardens are magnificent.

The ongoing garden projects started after the renovation of the church in 2015. At that time, several church members met to establish a Landscape Team that would complement the beauty of Calhoun Street and their church.

GARDENS from page 4SC provided an initial plan for the front of the church. Team McCann designed the other gardens, and the full team executed the plans.

In honor of spring and the emerging of the gardens, a Garden Cantata was planned by Keeley DiMartino, the church’s Director of Music, and on May 21 it was performed by the church’s Chancel, Children’s, and Hand Bell choirs.

The concert featured familiar nature-themed hymns like “For the Beauty of the Earth” and “Grow Your Garden.” The cantata was accompanied on the piano by Beth Corry and Nancy Osgood, a Sun City resident who also played the clarinet. The ensemble included a cellist, guitarist, and flutist.

Many Sun City residents are members of the church and the choir. The choir members, young and older, the pastor, and the musicians dressed in flower prints, as did many in the membership community. The children enhanced the performance with their floral attire.

Al Litster, Sun City resident and Bluffton Methodist Church member for 18 years, has held numerous posts in the church’s lay leadership. “It is fantastic to be singing with kids. I’ve watched them grow up,” Litster said.

“The gardens provide a source of beauty for our wonderful little church and make the congregation feel proud. They also provide a place where everyone can visit for a moment of peaceful reflection,” Litster continued. “Our bench and fountain to the right side of the church provides a little grotto for contemplation for our members, visitors and those who pass by. The gardens and property have flourished under the influence of Tom and Barbara and the Busy Bees, a group of church men who help maintain our property.”

A quick tour around the grounds provides a variety of themed gardens, with accompanying Bible verses. The first outside the front door of the church is the Sanctuary Garden and features pansies and Easter Lilies. “Some of the flowers are specific to a certain season, and after they blossom, we replace them,” said Tom McCann. “It’s really a full-time job.”

There is a White Garden, the Camellia Walk, and the Choristers Garden, which is positioned right outside the door where choir members often enter. This garden boasts salvia and milkweed to welcome hummingbirds and butterflies.

There is also a Sunshine Garden, a Fern Garden, a Reflection Garden, and – one of the McCann’s favorites – the Children’s Garden. McCann said the Children’s Garden began this spring when the kids planted seeds in cups, and took them home to care for them. They brought them back and transplanted the vegetables, nestling them among sage, thyme, basil, and some very successful tomato vines.

The deer helped themselves to the watermelon, but Tom took the reins and planted pumpkins in a caged spot, so they will survive until fall.

This many gardens mean that a great deal of time is spent weeding, and Barbara McCann has recruited many parishioners to deal with this challenge. “It’s simple. There are only three rules,” she said. “See a weed, pull a week, throw a weed away!”

As she stooped to pull a weed, Barbara added, “Most of us cannot walk past a weed.”

According to Tom, “Some of the gardens are situated along the sidewalk – and believe it or not, tourists stop to weed.”

Those interested in being involved in the church, its music, or the garden may contact the church office at 843757-3351.

Mace is a writer who lives in Sun City.

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