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Retired Ursuline sister cherishes her new calling
Sister Mary's Gardens
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Roses are red Violets are blue - SIster Mary Ann makes Ursuliine Motherhouse a gardeners delight
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Sister Mary Ann, 90, has transformed the gardens with her green thumb - and proudly talks about her flowers plants and trees like family.
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Sister Mary Ann, 90, has transformed the gardens at the Ursuline Mothers House - with her green thumb- here a bee takes full advantage of her abilities.
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Sister Mary Ann, 90, has transformed the gardens with her green thumb and to fully utilize her flowers she dries the plants for future use.
Retired Ursuline sister cherishes her new calling
By LINDA M. LINONIS
Vindicator Staff Writer
Sister Mary Ann Coz has put her hands and heart into God’s work for 60 years as an Ursuline nun.
Now nearly 90, she has witnessed students of all ages grow in knowledge and faith as a teacher at St. Charles, St. Rose, Immaculate Conception and St. Patrick schools and as religious-education director for the Diocese of Youngstown for 27 years.
When she retired in 1993, her hands were idled for the first time in decades — but not for long. She discovered the joy of gardening and has immersed herself in that pursuit in her retirement home at the Ursuline Motherhouse on Shields Road in Canfield.
Hundreds of people who visit the Ursuline Center weekly see the result of her inspiration and perspiration in the multiple gardens.
A fundraiser highlighting the gardens is sure to draw many other garden and nature enthusiasts. “Connecting with Yourself, Nature and the Creator” is the theme of the Walk in the Ursuline Gardens event planned Aug. 8. Proceeds will benefit the pool renovation.
“My mother would say that a home without flowers is not a home,” Sister Mary Ann said. “We lived on a farm, and there were always beautiful flowers.”
Sister Mary Ann acknowledged she wasn’t interested in gardening for most of her life; her vocation as a nun and its duties occupied her time and talents.
“When I retired and moved to the motherhouse, my sister asked me what I was going to do,” she said. Sister Mary Ann said she realized the landscaping at the Ursuline Center and Motherhouse had trees and some old shrubs, but flowers were lacking.
“My sister has a beautiful garden,” Sister Mary Ann said of her sibling, Frances Buchmann of Salem.
And so she was inspired.
Sister Mary Ann didn’t start small — she tackled the 30-foot-diameter circle in a grassy area at the front of the center and motherhouse. She said some of the old bushes had been there since the center was built in 1964 and had seen better days. They were removed.
Sister Mary Ann said help from Heidi Scarsella, a volunteer receptionist at the center who was a master gardener, essentially put her on the right garden path. She also credited other master gardeners — Liz Blazer, David Mazzie and Ray Stronman — with lending their green thumbs.
“These experts were a tremendous help,” she said, noting that she learned about the challenges of clay soil and “fixing the soil before you plant.”
“I feel this is my calling now,” Sister Mary Ann reflected. “I feel very fulfilled in what I’m doing. It changes constantly.
“The beauty of what God created is so evident in nature. We’re all called to protect it ... nature is now suffering from pollution. It’s up to us to take care of it. Where there is beauty, there is God.”
In the large circle, called Angela’s Circle Garden in honor of the order’s founder, St. Angela Merici, an array of flowers surrounds a birdbath. Flowers include asters, delphinium, feverfew, lamb’s ear, flox, morning primrose, shasta daisy, brown-eyed Susan and gloriosa daisy. Sister Mary Ann said she has learned the common references and the botanical names of the plants.
“I try to have the variety so that something is always blooming,” she said.
A small memorial garden for a deceased member of the order showcases white Easter lilies, roses and clematis. Other garden areas feature lilies, peonies, calendula, geraniums, astibille, daffodils, snapdragons, hollyhock, bishop’s weed and Japanese lanterns.
An area called the Chapel Garden includes hostas, hibiscus, hardy geraniums, daisies, yarrow and large holly bushes planted in 1964. A statue of St. Fiacre, patron of gardeners, also has a home in this area.
A Sacred Heart Meditation Garden offers benches for visitors and a quiet spot to prayer, meditate or just relax. And there’s a small herb garden from which culinary herbs are harvested for cooking and a vegetable garden.
“We love tomatoes,” Sister Mary Ann said.
The center and motherhouse sit on 77 acres, Sister Mary Ann said, adding that 15 acres are mowed, eight acres are meadows for wildlife and some are woods.
“Cataloging the trees is my winter job,” Sister Mary Ann said.
She noted a river birch and swamp magnolia are doing well in a wet part on the property. Other varieties are maple, pussywillow, Colorado spruce, magnolia, pear, redbud and olive.
linonis@vindy.com
Walk in the Garden
The Ursuline Sisters invite area residents to Walk in the Ursuline Gardens, a fundraiser with the theme “Connecting with Yourself, Nature and the Creator.”
When: 1 to 3 p.m. Aug. 8.
Where: Ursuline Center, 4280 Shields Road, Canfield.
Details: The event will include access to the flower gardens and newly installed outdoor labyrinth. There will be strolling musicians and free refreshments. Visitors will have the chance to meet with representatives of the Audubon Society and Ohio Extension office, who will have resource information available. There also will be activities for children. A variety of “gifts from nature” made by the Ursuline Sisters will be available.
Cost: The cost for adults is $8; children 10 and younger are free. Family and group rates will be available. Call Eileen Novotny, garden walk chairperson, at (330) 533-3831 or visit the Web site at www.theursulinecenter.org for details.
Why: Proceeds from the Walk in the Ursuline Gardens will go toward the renovation of the pool at the Ursuline Center, where some 700 people — from toddlers to senior citizens — swim each week. Activities include swimming lessons, water aerobic classes, mobility and therapy sessions for those with arthritis, muscle diseases or joint problems. Though the pool is well-maintained, the shower area, changing stalls and rest rooms need to be updated. The center is having the garden tour as a fundraiser. Donations also are being accepted; send checks payable to the Ursuline Center, 4280 Shields Road, Canfield, OH 44406. The center has $137,000 in grants and donations for the renovation and needs an additional $50,000.
Background: The Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown have served in various ministries in Mahoning County for the past 134 years. The Ursuline Center is a resource for the ministry of the Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown in the tradition of their founder, St. Angela Merici. Sister Nancy Dawson is president of the board of directors of the Ursuline Center. For information, call the center at (330) 799-4941.