It’s October and our nights are much cooler and our days are getting shorter. Before long we will have our first freeze and another growing season will be a distant memory. This time of year, even spiders are looking for a warmer place to live for the winter. While the interior of our home is off-limits to these creepy arachnids there is one “spider” that is beneficial to invite inside.

The fall equinox and the first day of autumn arrives on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, at 08:44 a.m. EDT in the Northern Hemisphere. The equinox occurs at the same moment worldwide. So, it’s official — fall is here!

Have you ever found yourself walking in a garden or on a path and happened upon a breathtaking statue of St. Francis of Assisi or a beautiful water fountain busy with birds splashing? It is sometimes in the awe of these moments that a person feels closest to God. He or she might silently thank him for encountering such beauty, or might think, “God sent this sacred message, personally, to me.”

"Mary is a garden of delights into which are sown all kinds of flowers and spice plants of the virtues.” — St. Jerome.

By now, we are all preparing our gardens in some way; planning, cleaning, pulling, sharpening, trimming, dumping, fixing and planting. Our reward, after our Colorado winter, is a rich, healthy glow of green. All we have to do is look around and feel the excitement of a new season. Here are a few suggestions to keep the garden in tip-top shape and at the same time honor Mary, Our Blessed Mother.