His not-so-secret garden

When Father Joe Tedesco, S.M., a diabetic for more than 20 years, heard the doctor's prognosis last year, he turned his attention to a walled, shady spot outside his Alumni Hall community. "I think I'll make a beautiful space before I lose my eyesight," he said and set to work.

Tedesco, who teaches in the psychology department, transformed the off-the-beaten path location with colorful containers of begonias and pansies, birdfeeders and a birdbath. An image of Blessed William Joseph Chaminade hangs in an arbor - the campus's only outdoor shrine honoring the founder of the Society of Mary. "I was afraid at first he would act as a scarecrow," Tedesco said and laughed.

Those fears were unwarranted. The garden draws purple finches, doves, hummingbirds, squirrels, chipmunks, toddlers from the Bombeck Children's Center and campus employees seeking meditative moments away from the office.

"People tell me how much they like to come and sit," said Tedesco, a lifelong gardener and avid birder.
And this year, the doctors tell him, his eyesight is fine.

by Deborah McCarty Smith 05-22-07