Creation Care and Gardens

St. Matthew's is dedicated to protecting and preserving nature's beauty and our resources. Our gardens are planted with non-invasive native species, and a great deal of care goes into being good stewards of the land.

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St. Matthew's Memorial Garden

St. Matthew’s Memorial Garden is a peaceful and consecrated space for the interment of ashes. The garden is lovingly maintained and has several benches for reflection and worship. Anyone's ashes may be interred by contacting the church. In addition, names may be engraved on the Memorial Wall by completing the form below. This has a fee of $500 per name. 
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Engraving Form

Memorial Garden Care Calendar

(Hyperlinks are in yellow)
Any Time:
  • Pick up sticks & Remove ivy 12” away from Memorial Wall
  • Pull winter creeper euonymus by tracing it back to the mother plant and removing it
  • Remove deadwood from trees
January:        
  • Cut dormant grasses around gas meter 6-12’ above ground
February:  March:
  • Mulch bare areas with wood chips, including in front of stone wall
April:
  • Prop up peonies
May:
  • Groom and trim as needed
Summer:
  • Trim bushes after spring blooms (spirea, Deutzia, azalea)
  • Remove bloomed-over daylily stalks (new ones will appear)
  • Trim spent blooms from flowers
  • Repeat mulch if needed, including around stone bench and in front of stone wall
  • Dig to remove a 3-foot wide grass circle around all trees to protect from lawn Mowers. Cover this area with 3”-4” of wood chips, but keep mulch 3” away from the trunks of trees.
  • Remove all vines, especially honeysuckle, bindweed, and euonymus from trees,
  • Water if necessary (primarily new plantings)
Fall:  
  • Rake pine needles into Memorial Garden bed before leaves fall.
  • Cut peonies to ground and put in garbage (OCT/NOV)
  • Clean and cut iris and daylily beds (OCT)
  • Late fall: Mulch beds with pine straw, leaves, or wood chips 4” deep.