Gardening
is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes.
Anonymous
[ N.B. I'm doing something different with this story. At the request of several readers, I'm now including pictures with the body of the text. (I've also finally figured out how to do it.) Below is a link to my flickr account for additional pictures. Please let me know how you like this!]
This is
the second story in my blog series entitled The
Great Gardens of Second Life.
My first
entry was about the Asian Victorian Gardens part of Perryn
Peterson’s Mieveille domain. This is
an explosion of flora in an Asian setting overlooking San Francisco bay.
The story
was rather well received. (At least I
thought so. Even Significant Other was
impressed.) I had considerable feedback
from folks and many suggestions on which Second Life (SL) garden to cover next.
I try to
be fair in these matters when selecting subjects for my stories. Whenever I’m faced with a situation where I
have multiple choices from several friends, I do what I do in Real Life (RL).
I decide
to not play favorites, make everyone equally unhappy, and select the subject
myself. (We’ll ignore Significant
Other’s comment about looking at the RL consequences of this behavior. And, no, this is not how I decided upon our
relationship.)
Anyway,
back to the subject of this story…
A drumroll
please…
My readers
may recall that I first blogged about First UCC when I went looking for God
inworld. (In case anyone missed that
one, I found Him. He’s there just as
much as He’s in RL. I’m not so sure He’s
too crazy about me tagging along but I still think there’s some significance in
the fact that besides Starbucks, religious sites are the only other places I have
yet to be thrown out of in RL. Significant
Other mumbles something about small children and puppies.)
Thanks to
my SL friend, Becca (“Bec”) Kellstrom,
who is a religious in both SL and RL, (She’s a great homilist. Check her out the next time she preaches
inworld.) I was introduced to Jerome (“Jer”) Newstart , the pastor of UCC, and YoYo Rez, a congregant and a member of the pastoral staff there.
 |
| Jerome Newstart, First UCC Pastor |
Jer
oversees the planning and building of the gardens at First UCC and YoYo is
responsible for the exhibitions at the Art Garden.
Bec was
kind enough to arrange an interview for me with Jer to discuss the gardens at
First UCC. (After all my questions, she
may be reconsidering that whole “never been thrown out of a religious site” shtick
of mine.)
My reasons
for selecting First UCC as one of the great gardens inworld are several.
(What? Do you think I pick a name out of
a hat? Don’t answer that!)
First, let’s
go over the layout of the gardens at First UCC.
The church
buildings sit in a forested area which runs down to the shoreline. The grounds are laid out in a natural setting
much like one would encounter in RL woods.
 |
| Forest Pathway |
Paths lead
through the woods going around copses of trees and beds of wild flowers. As of this writing, all are in autumnal
splendor. Trees arch over the walkways
allowing for a nicely shaded effect.
Buildings
have integrated into the natural setting and one is given the feel of a classic
older college campus setting as opposed to the more modern ones which are stark
glass and steel with nature taking a back seat to man’s intrusion.
Several
areas have been set aside for specific purposes.
 |
| Peace Grove |
The Peace
Grove is deep in the woods and is an opening surrounding a firepit with torches
at the periphery. This serves the
function of a meditation pit for either individual or group contemplation. A cross looks over the scene. Services occur here and sadly these days
there’s too much cause for them in such a place.
Another
portion of the grounds given over to a specific purpose is the Art Garden near
the shore. Here different artists’ works
are exhibited. The placement of
paintings and sculptures in the natural setting gives an effect difficult to
achieve in RL.
In front
of the administrative building is an apple orchard. (I’m told Bec keeps a bowl of apples on her
desk on the third floor. I never said a
word!) Looking the windows, citrus trees
can be seen growing in the atrium. (This is what I love about SL, the laws of
physics and nature are suspended.)
 |
| Rooftop Garden |
Entering
the building and taking the elevator to the rooftop on the fifth floor one is greeted
by fourteen planting beds filled with a colorful riot of flowers and
vegetables. The rose and aubretia beds especially
draw my attention. A small fountain and a
greenhouse complete the scene.
When Jer
and I meet in his office to discuss what he describes as his “very amateur
landscape efforts,” (He’s being very modest, trust me.) he explains how he was
looking for a peaceful, contemplative effect with the gardens.
Jer has
succeeded here.
The purpose
of the gardens and landscapes is to provide space for meditation and
contemplation. There are many places
scattered across the grounds where one can find peace and quiet and be alone
with one’s thoughts.
The use of
the space on the rooftop was an attempt to take advantage of what was perceived
as wasted space and gain some recreational value from it. The swimming pool on one side certainly helps
there.
I’m shown
around the rooftop gardens and the atrium by Jer before he has to head off to
evening psalters. (I have yet to hear
him preach but I’m told by others that he’s very impressive and I’ll make a
point of returning later to do that.)
I thank him for his time and hospitality and
head back home myself.
My
attraction to the First UCC gardens are their natural look and feel and having
beautiful water views doesn’t hurt at all.
They are the perfect place
inworld to come, to sit, and to sort through one’s thoughts.
Being a
religious site there isn’t the pandemonium that exists on other SL sims with
lush forest scenes. Form and function
come together very well here.
So, I
include the gardens at First UCC among the Great Gardens of SL.
 |
| Wild Flowers |
I do
recommend that you come and visit.
Whether just for the natural scenic beauty or to take advantage of the
site for meditation, please do come. I promise
that you won’t be disappointed!
I do ask that visitors
remember that First UCC is a religious site so dress and act accordingly. Be mindful that services may be underway when
you arrive and be respectful of these even if you’re a non-believer.
I would like to thank Jer
for his time and hospitality while meeting with me for this interview. Thanks to Bec for helping with the
arrangements and to YoYo for answering my questions earlier!
Also, a big thank you to all
of them and their friends and colleagues who are working tirelessly to help
those who have nowhere to turn with their RL problems but SL.
As always,
I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk
with a stranger who was passing through their lives.
In addition to the pictures included here, more pictures of the First UCC gardens can be seen at my flickr account!
My Twitter handle is @webspelunker. Please feel free to follow me and I’d be
happy to follow you.
I can be found on Google+ as
webspelunker Ghostraven.
On Skype I’m webspelunker
Ghostraven.
Open roads
and safe fires!
