SPRUCING UP / Thanks to volunteers, the grounds of Saint Andrew's are looking marvelous these days.

Brushes Wielded, Plants Moved

By PHIL SCHWARTZ, Buildings and Grounds Chair

s you have been able to see, the efforts to present a better image, "to look good," have begun. This is entirely due to the volunteerism of the stalwart crews of the Garden Guild and the Work Day Force.

The Garden Guild, whose membership at present includes Tom and Georgie Olson, Peter and Sonja Elson, Rick and Sandy Whittaker, Pat and Skip Molina, Cheri Tomcheck, John Rodrigues, John Poythress, Margie Howe, and Al Mosk, met earlier this year at the church and decided on a course of action for the "re-engineering" of the garden area around the church proper. It was felt, since a professional landscaper was on board, that focused attention on the other areas of the grounds, for the present time, was unnecessary. The adopted course of action was based on the concept that all the beds around the church needed to be completely replanted, that unnecessary or obtrusive trees needed to be removed, that ill-placed or overgrown shrubs needed to be removed, and that the remaining plants needed to be replanted in an arrangement and location more suited to them. At the same time it was decided that additional plants must be added to fill out the planters and atria and that this would require some re-engineering of the existing sprinkler system. Among the ideas put forth and adopted was the addition of a hanging plant system within the atria that would be visible from inside the church. In keeping with the plan and the enthusiasm of the Guild, work began almost immediately. So far the guild has been responsible for most of the changes taking place in the two beds closest to the parking lot, but not all.

That brings me to the Work Day Force, which included Tom and Georgie Olson and their son Tom, Jr., John Rodrigues, Peter and Sonja Elson, Tom Pietryga, Gordon Brown, Teri Poythress, Candice Crocker and Gavin Stuttard, Alan and Jean Spencer and Desmond Marsh. That Work Day—Saturday March 20—even though it included a smattering of rain during the morning hours, saw additional heavy labor take place in the garden. Two large trees were removed (one of which was so close to the church that one can still see the unpainted fascia that it covered) and the bed nearest the kiosk at the front of the church was raked cleaned and spaded under. Because of the rain, however, another important task was accomplished—the painting of the Narthex. The rain was actually a blessing in disguise (as most of them are) in that it became obvious early on that repainting the Narthex was going to take a gargantuan effort in order to finish it in a single day (which, even with the amount of help we had, still didn’t quite happen). The effort included emptying the Narthex, removing hardware and polishing or replacing it, removing cabinet doors, taping, priming, two coats of paint, and clean-up. All told there were 15 volunteers there on and off from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.! There are few rooms in any building that are so small yet have such a large number of doors, windows, and cabinetry. All in all it was a very successful Work Day and the efforts of the Force are greatly appreciated.

The Garden Guild continues its march through the tasks ahead of it and as time passes you will notice the results of those efforts as our gardens begin to take shape and transform into places of beauty. Be sure to compliment the members of the Guild for the great job they are doing!

Our next Work Day is scheduled for June 5. On that day we will remove a couple more trees, clean out and patch the flat roofs, and paint the (easily accessible) trim within the church.

It should be mentioned that Buildings and Grounds work around the church does not happen only on Work Days—there are a few dedicated volunteers, such as Tom Pietryga, who see to day-to-day maintenance tasks such as changing light bulbs, replacing fuses, etc. This type of "as-needed" maintenance effort is always appreciated, and any of you that would like to be on the "on-call" list for some of these tasks please contact me. More later.