More than a hundred people gathered on a recent Sunday for the dedication and ribbon cutting of Hope Blooms, a new garden tucked behind the Rutland Public Library. With a stone-dust pathway leading to it from the parking lot, the garden is meant to be a place of comfort for people to remember loved ones who are no longer with them.

Hope Lives Here (HLH) is responsible for this quiet oasis off Rutland’s Main Street. Sheri Roaf, board president of HLH, led the dedication. Reverend Pamela Reidy read the poem “In the Garden,” by Rosemary Wahtola Trommer and led the blessing: “We gather today to bless this garden, a patch of earth rooted in love, embracing memories and growing hope. In gratitude we bless this garden as a sanctuary, a place of healing, and a beauty-filled reminder of our interconnectedness with the natural world and worlds beyond. It is love that brings memories to mind and it is love that renews our spirits. May love fill and nourish the hearts of all who come here for peace.”

Whitney MacLure and Lindsey Paul from Journey Within Yoga and Wellness provided the sound bath while people placed stones throughout the garden. “In silence, with reverence and love in our hearts, we place our stones, remembering the ones we love. Embrace the silence that speaks so beautifully around us,” said Roaf.

 The garden was more than a year in the making. “We wanted to do something different besides a 5k walk – which we’ll resume next year,” explains Faith Mayer, a board member of the nonprofit and marketing director. “We looked for land in Holden, but nothing really worked out and then the Town of Rutland came forward and donated the land for us to use. Tomeca Murphy [executive assistant to Rutland’s town administrator and select board] has been incredible, so wonderful to work with. This wouldn’t have happened without her involvement.”

The garden layout was designed by HLH board members. Benches, arbors, raised beds, flowers, wind chimes, bird baths, and gravel were donated and installed by volunteers. Mayer describes how hoses had to be lugged from the garden to the church to water the plants. Until the Rutland DPW heard about that challenge. While HLH paid for supplies, the DPW installed the water line and spigot – seemingly overnight.

“The intention is for the garden to be a living, breathing thing that will continue to grow,” says Mayer, as there is more area in which to expand. “It’s a wonderful place to see and enjoy that gorgeous sunset. Not everyone wants to go to a cemetery to remember their loved ones. If they don’t want to do that, they can come here.”

Mayer says that mothers who have lost a child and who have volunteered at the garden say it’s an opportunity for them to have something to care for.

Hope Blooms is just the latest gift to the community from HLH, an organization that was born out of one family’s tragedy.

In April 2015, Patty Inwood’s son Luke died by suicide. Although Inwood was surrounded by family and friends who helped her grieve, she realized not everyone has such support. Inwood envisioned and began Hope Lives Here to help people survive such loss.

“She wanted to create a space in her community where others who were hurting from loss could come together and feel less alone,” explains Mayer. ‘I was so moved by the fact that parents had the strength to create something like this, when they were coming out of a grief that I can’t even begin to imagine.”

 Located at 1085 Main St. in Holden, HLH offers support groups throughout the month for those dealing with loss. Groups include loss of a child, loved one, partner, or pregnancy/infant. This month, the organization will launch a peer-led support group with trained facilitators for teens aged 12-17. There is no charge to attend any HLH support group or program. 

HLH is seeking volunteers to help water, weed and tend to the garden. For more information about other volunteer opportunities or support groups, call HLH at 508-233-8984 or visit their website at hlhgrief.org. HLH also has a public Facebook page as well as a private one for those involved with its programs.