Posted: 8/8/07
What the Father sows, grows beautifully
 It doesn't matter the angle from which you view the church, it's all gorgeous. This is the south side of the church and the grotte where people can go and meditate among the enormous petunia plants. |
By MaryHelen Swanson
The congregation of the Church of the Sacred Heart in Rush City is rightfully proud of the beauty surrounding their church this summer and it's all due to their leader, Father Xavier Thelakkatt.
As he tells it, four years ago when the church created its drive-up area, Fr. Xavier thought it would be a nice place to have flowers.
The plants were purchased that first year with a donation. But it cost $600 for 20 pots.
Fr. Xavier said it was good, but he was not going to do that any more.
So the second year, he decided to do it himself using the pots from that first year and pots he gathered at garage sales. Still, buying the plants, about 100 wave petunias, would have cost quite a bit of money.
So, he ordered petunia seeds from a Wisconsin seed company and started them in early March under florescent lights. Ending up with more than 300 plants, in six colors, he gave a lot away because he only needed 100-150.
"Petunias are something I love," he said.
The whole petunia process is an act of love. Fr. Xavier talked tenderly about the tiny seeds, how he loves to see them sprout, and grow leaves and more leaves, then one flower, then 10 .... "I'm a farmer at heart, he said, noting that his father was a farmer, too.
This year he again planted 60 pots: three plants in each large, one plant in the small hanging planters. He only has to buy the dirt these days.
Besides his love of the flowers, this act of beautifying the church and the town of Rush City with colorful petunias is his health regime.
The Father notes that he has a cholesterol problem. And while he enjoys biking and hiking, it's not enough. Go to a gym? Why?
The petunias require his attention for an hour and a half every day. They need watering. "I have to do it," he said. So every evening he's out there deadheading and watering the plants, although he has to carry pails of water to those on the north side of the church. If I didn't water each night, he said, people would drive by the next morning and say "hey, what happened?"
"It's been a good addition to the city, people love it," he said. And that's good enough for him.
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