A Special Stop on the Garden Tour

One particular stop on the 25th annual Proud Neighbors of Collingswood Porch Brunch & Home and Garden Tour takes peace to another level.

The tour, on Sunday, May 15, will feature Lourdes Wellness Center's Meditation Garden for the second time. 

It's a space that transcends boundaries of hustle-and-bustle in Collingswood. Stepping into the garden, located just behind Lourdes at 1040 Haddon Ave., a feeling of serenity overpowers the cars whooshing nearby on the street.

The entire garden was built as a tribute to Catholic St. Francis of Assisi's The Canticle of Creatures prayer, which teaches the beauty of praising God through the elements—earth, air, fire, water, wind.

In 2007, it was Matthew Cosenza's job to bring that prayer to life.

"Lourdes approached me in 2007 to create this space," said Cosenza, owner of Amazing Tree, LLC, who constructed the garden. "Sisters Helen and Mary Anne gave me the whole concept, the prayer from St. Francis. So I followed my way through the prayer. I began working on the space in 2007, and finished in the spring of 2008.

"Before the garden was created, someone had donated this space to Lourdes. It used to just be an empty lot, with one tree and a duck," said Cosenza, of a single duck who'd inhabited the area when flooding created pools of water. "The duck has since moved on, but there's a lot more to this place than before."

Now, the space whisks visitors away to a place of peace. The garden is frequented by Lourdes patients, and is used to host meditation and wellness classes.

"Once of the most interesting aspects of the garden is the mailbox," said Cosenza. "It sits in the rear of the grounds, and inside is a journal and pen. People, some who are sick, some who are teenagers, some who are elderly, some whose families have been broken apart—people of in all different situations—write in it while they sit back and reflect, or pray, or meditate.

"The journal is one of the most rewarding parts of building this garden, for me," he said. "It's neat for me to read (the journal), because you usually do a job and walk away from it. But this garden requires constant maintenance, so I get to come back all the time and read what this place means for people. It's a really cool reminder of how my work has helped people."

The young, the old, the sick, the healthy—they all get to experience Lourdes Wellness Center's Meditation Garden whenever they're moved to reflect.

But experiencing the garden, thanks to St. Francis of Assisi, is a process bound by the elements.

Different sections of the garden are broken off and devoted to the elements in St. Francis' prayer—Sister Moon and Stars, Brother Fire, Sister Water and more.

Each segment was carefully thought out by Cosenza. The Sister Moon and Stars area, for example, features trees and shrubs which all flower white. The color represents the night sky. The area designated to wind includes wind chimes and an Aspen tree, whose leaves are known to flutter and rustle at even the lightest breeze.

It's one of Collingswood's most beautiful—and secret—gardens, and will surely light up this year's House and Garden Tour. 

"Right now, we're changing the Mother Earth section," said Cosenza of his post-tour duties. "It originally included a sandbox, where I imagined kids could play while their parents were inside Lourdes. But it just wasn't working out the way we'd imagined.

"So we're shifting the direction to an edible-earth segment," he said. "We're adding plants and herbs, like basil, things you can eat."

Amazing Tree, LLC, based out of Franklinville, is Cosenza's life's work. But the garden is his pride.

"It really is beautiful," he said. "For me, it's a gift that keeps on giving. Getting this place ready took a lot of work, but seeing the effect it has on people was worth every bit. I see in that journal how much my work means to people—people who I never met, and maybe never will meet. But my work has affected them:

Proud Neighbors of Collingswood's Porch Brunch & House and Garden Tour will feature the homes and gardens of many Collingswood-based residences. The Lourdes Wellness Center Meditation Garden will be among its stops. The garden will be open Sunday from 11:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.—and is open to everyone year-round.

For more information about Amazing Tree, LLC, visit their website or their Facebook page.

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