Cloudy with showers. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%..
Cloudy with showers. Low 64F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
The Auburn Presbyterian Church biblical garden at the corner of 13th and Jackson streets offers a place of rest and peace for passersby.
The Auburn Presbyterian Church biblical garden at the corner of 13th and Jackson streets offers a place of rest and peace for passersby.
AUBURN — Available to any passersby who may want to turn in for a moment of rest or a person seeking solace or a place to enjoy nature, the Auburn Presbyterian Church biblical garden on the corner of 13th and Jackson streets is mostly unknown to the public, but Emily Heymann and the crew who tend it want people to know it is a welcoming and beautiful space.
Architecturally designed to feature plants and trees mentioned in the Bible, the garden has some distinctive characteristics.
Standing tall in the center is the tallest gingko tree in the county. The mission oak in the far west corner and a bald cypress tower over well-kept plantings that feature iris, holly, oak leaf hydrangeas, as well as flowers and bulbs that have been planted as memorials.
Longtime church and Auburn Garden Club member Barb Lockwood is remembered with a tree; spring bulbs are in memory of Fran Mefford, also a longtime member of the church and garden club. Resurrection lilies were planted in memory of Linda Pulver Jackson and her grandmother, Alice Peckhart.
The biblical garden itself is dedicated to the memory of beloved former pastor William A. Heimach. Redbud, dogwood, and flowering quince mark the spring months with color along with lamb’s ears, widow’s tears, and astilbes.
Within the antique iron fence are pathways, arbors, and decorative rocks. Flowering clematis and red roses attest to care and pruning by Dick Reichard and helpers Ray Smith and David John.
“Last year, they lopped off some plants that had outgrown themselves, and this year, the plants bloomed beautifully.” Heymann explained.
Dedicated in July of 1976, the garden features a large wooden cross designed, built and installed by Bill Ritchie. It stands behind a stone communion table.
Stations of the cross, placed along a pathway, indicate the ecumenical outreach of the church. Mark Bassett, who keeps the lawn mowed, and benches made by Marcus Smith as an Eagle Scout project make the garden a place where people can stop and find rest.
Because there is no underwater system, plantings have to be watered on a regular basis. Ross and Nancy Clark, Jan Nagel, Nancy Derrow, Hilda Kennedy, Polly Bassett, Ruth Randinelli, David and Cheryl John, Pam Scranton, and Emily and Ron Heymann come weekly to water, mulch, or weed.
“We try to incorporate plantings in the garden that have been used or loved. For instance, left over Easter lilies,” Heymann said. She pointed to the benches under the grape arbors. “We work, but we also do a lot of sitting, talking, and resting.”
Among the permanent plantings, cedars and ivy are wirings that allow for light on timers and a spotlight on the American flag.
Numerous events have been commemorated in the garden. People have held wedding and graduation photos sessions, funeral services, and family gatherings in the garden. One recent event was the celebration of life for Linda Jackson, when her friends and family released monarch butterflies. Another was the solemn retiring of the American flag ceremony performed on July 4 weekend by the Carl Smith family. During summer months, Sunday services are held in the garden, where the Rev. Dr. David Lawrence leads the congregation in worship.
Placed among the plantings are large flower pots tended by Susan Buttermore, Margaret Buttermore, Phyllis Buttermore, and Jan Nagel.
“Phyllis keeps track of what plants have been planted and chooses which ones to use again,” Heymann said.
The Buttermore family also cares for other garden spots around the church.
“Our family has done this for years,” Susan Buttermore said.
“For me, it started on the corner where there was just a pile of rocks with a bunch of weeds. I had to put in a few annuals.“ Over the years, the corner has become a focal point with flowers such as foxglove, heritrope, zinnias, petunias and white gaura whirling butterflies.
Heymann spoke of the garden’s history, stating that in 1971, the area was leveled and sodded and a landscape architect was asked to draw plans. It was the hope of Rev. Miles A. Freeman, a former pastor, that the area where the manse once stood would someday be landscaped to become “a place of beauty and restfulness, enjoyed by all who enter therein.”
Tucked among ornamental grasses, flowers, and herbs is a plaque marking the garden as such a place.
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