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Natural thing to do: Walk benefits Ursuline Gardens
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Jack Fergus, left, and his father, John Fergus, both of Canfield, look at the gardens during the "Connecting with Yourself, Nature and the Creator" event in Canfield on Sarturday.
Saturday’s walk raised funds for renovations to the pool area at the Ursuline Center.
CANFIELD — Gray skies and rain sprinkles didn’t dissuade area residents from walking through the Ursuline Gardens.
People strolled past beds of black-eyed Susans, larkspur, phlox, lamb’s ears, lilies and other mostly perennial plants Saturday while flutists and a singer serenaded them. Visitors were told a little bit about each garden and given information about the plants.
The tour and other activities were part of the Ursuline Sisters’ Walk in the Ursuline Gardens. The theme was “Connecting with Yourself, Nature and the Creator” and was a fundraiser for the Ursuline Center. The money is to be used for renovations to the shower area, changing stalls and restrooms of the pool area at the Shields Road location.
“I like the black-eyed Susans since we keep seeing them all over the place,” said Imagin Whitehouse, 8. “My grandma has some at her house.”
Abagail Parish, also 8, said her favorite colors are pink and purple, and she enjoys flowers of those colors, but also likes the golden black-eyed Susans.
The Columbiana girls attended the event with Imagin’s mom, Carolyn Whitehouse, and her 2-year-old brother Sammy.
Before touring the gardens, the group stopped in the center’s auditorium for a snack.
“We had some cookies inside,” Imagin said. “They were good. I had chocolate chip.”
Getting their faces painted was also on their agenda.
Lita Sevilla of Canfield attends an aquatic-exercise class at the Ursuline Center and showed up to lend her support to the renovation project.
“It’s really nice because I have some flowers at home, and I really don’t know the names of some things,“ Sevilla said.
The information about plants given to participants is helpful, she said.
Quilts, watercolor paintings, baskets, floral note cards, muffins, breads and other items filled tables in the center auditorium, where a piano player provided entertainment.
Betty Hatfield of Austintown sampled the bruschetta and said it was good.
Hatfield has enjoyed a water-aerobics class at the center for 15 years and attended the event to support the fund-raising effort.
“And I love the flower gardens,” she said.
She also enjoyed the displays in the auditorium.
“There are just so many pretty things and so much to choose from,” she said.
Visitors had the chance to speak with representatives of the Audubon Society and Ohio Extension office.
Some 700 people — from toddlers to senior citizens — use the pool at the Ursuline Center each week. Activities include swimming lessons, water-aerobic classes, mobility and therapy sessions for those with arthritis, muscle diseases or joint problems.
The gardens are the work of Sister Mary Ann Coz. Now nearly 90, she was a teacher for several decades before retiring and moving into the Ursuline Motherhouse on Shields Road. There she discovered the joy of gardening.