Sr. Léa’s Garden: Cultivating the Earth and a Sense of Wonder

Vibrant flowers, vegetables, herbs, and even a few peaches: at the heart of Maison Jésus-Marie (MJM) – a flourishing green space never ceases to surprise. During this Season of Creation, which continues until October 2, it is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the work of Sr. Léa Dulude, who tends this vegetable garden with passion.

“It is a joy to see all this beauty unfold and the happiness it brings to people’s hearts,” she says. The enthusiastic comments from Sisters, staff members, and visitors confirm that her efforts are bearing fruit—in every sense of the word!

When Nature Has a Few Surprises in Store

Sr. Léa tends her gardens, but she also spends a great deal of time observing. And nature never ceases to amaze her.

Two peach trees sprang up spontaneously in the garden. This year, they blossomed and then produced an abundance of fruit. The squirrels were the first to discover them and feasted on the harvest from one tree! Sr. Léa therefore protected the second, hoping to enjoy a few ripe peaches herself.

Elsewhere, cherry tomato seeds that fell to the ground last year have grown into vigorous new plants. Numerous lemon seedlings are also appearing, thanks to the spreading of compost. Sr. Léa transplants these seeds into pots and offers them to anyone who would like to adopt one.

Planting, Harvesting, and Passing It On

Her connection with the earth goes back to her childhood, when she learned to tend her family’s vegetable garden. She even preserved some seeds from her family and continues that tradition today at MJM.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, beets, zucchini, kale, and herbs now share the garden space. The harvest then makes its way to the residence kitchens. “It makes my companions and me happy to know that we are eating what we have grown,” she says.

This practice also recalls the Congregation’s early years, when Sisters and students tended large vegetable gardens to help provide food for their communities.

A Cycle That Begins Again Each Year

Sr. Léa also takes care of the compost, which includes plant scraps collected at the residence: fruit and vegetable peels, seeds, pits, and wilted or dried flowers. Each morning, these are placed in a hole in the ground with water and then buried. Once decomposed, this organic matter returns to the soil, enriching it—and sometimes produces a few surprises along the way.

In the Fall, she collects seeds from the plants she has grown. Beginning in March, she starts her seedlings in the basement. Then comes planting, tending, and harvesting once again. This year, the abundance of flowers growing among the vegetables prompted her to say enthusiastically: “It’s like a botanical garden!”

Cosmos, cannas, dahlias, and other plants brighten a space that serves as a vegetable garden, terrace, and place to relax.

For Sr. Léa, caring for this small ecosystem also nurtures her inner life. Watching a seed sprout, welcoming the unexpected, harvesting, and then beginning again help her remain close to Creation and filled with wonder. It is a simple way of living out the call to care for our common home, well beyond the Season of Creation.