The Gardens and Grounds on Enders Island

Last week, I was on retreat and attended the Sacred Art Institute on Enders Island in Mystic, Connecticut. The island is tiny, only 11 acres, but packed with beautiful gardens lovingly tended by volunteers.

The hydrangeas outside the chapel and across from Angell Hall where the studios are located.

Wild flowers at (my) little beach

A late blooming rose outside of St. Michael's, our dormitory

The show stopper are the dahlias. 

Still a bit early for them. They will bloom later this month. Some of the blooms will be big as dinner plates.

Everywhere you roam on the island are niche gardens and places to sit and pray, meditate, or just enjoy the beauty.

Lilies

The main house.

I found a stone kitty and a faucet with a little bird.

After dinner, a classmate and I had a cup of tea under the grape arbor

Sunset

Early in the morning, I went to the (my) little beach to wade in the water and do some Qi Gong exercises. I didn't notice them the first morning, but there were hundreds of tiny, hermit crabs. The ripples in the sand looked like highways, and the crabs were busy commuting and bustling to and fro. I called them sea spiders, and after I noticed them, I didn't venture very far into the water.

The Holy Gully. The gull claims the steeple as his perch. One morning a gardener was tending the tubs of flowers outside the chapel. The gull was not happy she invaded his space, and he let out a raucous chorus of his displeasure.

Valerie Weilmuenster, the instructor for the workshop told me a story. One day the gull had captured a crab as his prize. After Mass, when people were coming out of the chapel, the gull flung pieces and parts of crab shell on those below.

The gazebo with wonderful rocking chairs

One evening, I was enjoying my evening cuppa in the gazebo and watching the sunset when a loud boom caused me to jump nearly spilling my tea. Apparently, the yacht club across the way, practices a tradition of lowering the flag and shooting off a cannon at sunset. So much for the quiet, contemplative life on the island. 😸

When I was a kid we had to end our play when the street lights came on. I was amused thinking Mrs. Enders telling her children, "You can go outside to play after supper, but when you hear the cannon, it will be time to come in."

The yacht club.

One of the Qi Gong exercises I do is called Flying Geese. A herd of geese landed on the water to show me how it's really done.

My last morning on the beach. Bye, bye little beach and sea spiders. I'll see you when I return for another workshop in October.

How does your garden grow?