Gifts from the Garden

Tina Lopez, one of the many talented creators/founders of Gifts from the Garden with Lt. Col. Jill Sizemore, another happy customer!

Photographer: Frank Starkey

By BARBARA STARKEY

After the renovation of the Padre’s Garden in about the year 2003, the yearly event in November was founded which is “Evening in the Garden”. An evening of candlelight, entertainment, food, wine and fellowship with guests gathering from up to 500 miles away and now foreign countries.

At this time a supporter of the Mission began a canopied-lighted gift event in the Garden which featured gifts from the Padre’s Garden.

Several women were gathered and put their cooking skills to work. Experiments with herbs and fruits from the garden were made and the outcome was jars and jars of unique products..

Jellies and jams were made by these women. The fruits were acquired from the Padre’s Garden of course.

Now, becoming excited and encouraged by their new-found skills, this tiny group of determined women started fashioning trinkets to sell in their delightful tent. The trinkets were in association with wine and the jellies.

The herbs, jellies and jams were canned in ‘wide-mouth half-pint’ glass jars. Then ‘tied-off’ with country style materials, a note was added to the ribbon as to the contents of the jars and a St. Anthony Medal from the Mission Gift Shop attached.

Mint from the Garden was hand picked, cleaned and dried. . Then the women put the leaves through a hand process of candying and canned them. This usually seemed to be the favorite product sold but also the most time-consuming to prepare.

The women dried the rosemary, mint and citrus rinds to make hand scrub, another favorite.

The group of dedicated,-determined ladies were fortunate to have Betty and Jim Barrington of the King City area join them. Betty is an award winning canner. She grew up with fruits and vegetables in her hands at the side of her Grandmother and has been canning ever since.’

The Padre’s Garden is still giving after all these years! The fruits in the garden are apples, apricots, plums, cherries, quince, tangerines, pears and lemons. The herbs line up as mint, rosemary and chamomile.

One of the ladies always prominent in the middle of the “Gifts from the Garden” is Tina Lopez of King City. She hastens to add:” Each of these harvests depends upon Mother Nature (and the squirrels and raccoons) of course, so we do not always have every item every year.”

I’ll tell you this; if it’s THERE the ladies in the tent at the Mission functions will have it canned and ready to buy! They are one determined bunch! God bless ‘em.

All monies go to the Restoration Funds of the San Antonio de Padua Mission, the greatest gift of all. To find out other ways you can help please visit Campaign Preserve Mission San Antonio