WRITTEN BY SR. OTILIA GUERRA

At our International Novitiate in St. Louis, we enjoy many activities together and one of them is planting vegetables. This year we added apples and peach trees to our small garden in honor of St. Joseph and to commemorate International Workers’ Day with our own manual labor. We enjoy working in the garden and, of course, eating fresh vegetables; we look forward to the special treat of our home grown fruits as well. We are also mindful of our solidarity with God’s creation as we try to take care of creation and our health.

INCREDIBLE, EDIBLE … LANDSCAPING?

Sisters in Houston recently discovered that ornamental cabbages and kale growing in the front flower beds of the Villa de Matel are actually edible – and organic! “Jim Kubin, our groundskeeper, ate one leaf in front of me to prove it,” said a delighted Sr. Ricca Dimalibot. “They’re full of iron and very, very filling,” she noted. Sr. Kim Tran harvested less than a quarter of the unexpected crop for a yield of more than 20 lbs. of leafy, vitamin k-rich greens which she cooked up for supper before a Laudato Si’ Week music rehearsal. When green thumbs, artistic temperaments and Sr. Kim’s cooking collide, ornamental vegetable gardens produce a a feast for the eyes and the tummy.

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