Enjoy this inside look at The Weederâs Reader â a special issue of GreenPrints. Youâll love this story! [GreenPrints]( June 8, 2023 Â [MEET THE PATRON SAINT OF GARDENING!]( All worthwhile endeavors deserve their own saint, donât you think? Gardening is without a doubt one of the most worthwhile of all endeavors, even for those of us who are casual gardeners. Isnât it good to know that while youâre toiling away, tending your garden, that you can find some inspiration to keep your garden growing? Become a [GreenPrints All-Access Member]( today to get stories that amuse, inspire, entertain, and even heal. These âgardening stories from the heartâ are reading for your enjoyment, fulfillment, and personal enrichmentâyouâll always find stories of hope and inspiration whenever you read an issue! For example, check out this story from The Weederâs Reader — a history of St. Fiacre, the patron saint of gardeners: [The Story of St. Fiacre]( Just who was this patron saint of gardeners?
By Peter Loewer [St. Fiacre] Most noble endeavors of mankind have a patron saint, usually a man or woman who has achieved notorietyâoften by torture or deathâin a particular field or endeavor. In 303 A.D., for example, a woman named Barbara dwelt in Heliopolis, where she was decapitated by her father when she refused to renounce Christianity. He was thereupon consumed by lightning and she became the patron saint of firearms (if not the N.R.A.) and all accidents from explosions involving gun powder. In 250 A.D., St. Apollonia became the patron saint of dentistry. Because she wouldnât relinquish her faith, all her teeth were brutally removed, one by one, with a pair of pincers, and she was then burned alive. Most patron saints have such lives. Last month I went to a garden party and saw a sculpture of an Irish monk named St. Fiacre. The plaque below called him the patron saint of gardeners. Now I must confess that in over 25 years of gardening, I never really thought our craft had a patron saint, even though when walking through gardens and garden centers, Iâd often seen statue after statue of a pious man in a cloak, identified by crude signs written in felt-tip pens as St. Francis, patron saint of gardeners. Apparently todayâs concrete casters and mild-mannered growers believe that our activityâs patron should be someone who had quiet thoughts and talked to birds. But I always dismissed St. Francis out of hand, since tradition would probably demand that gardeningâs saint either have been buried alive, mauled by a pair of oxen while tilling bottomland, or at least an earnestly dedicated grower. And it turns out I was right. Saint Fiacre, our real saint, was a wildman of gardening, a miracle worker who bargained with the church and had problems with a witch, and the patron saint of cab-drivers, as well. Back in Ireland in the 600âs, various monks were sent to Europe to spread the word of God, among them Fiacre. Fiacre soon made a name for himself as a pious monk, but wished only to become a hermit. So the Bishop of Paris gave him a place of his own, deep in the forest and away from the monastery, where Fiacre retired to the great work of his life. He soon cleared a space in the woods and built an oratory to Our Lady and a small hut for himself. Then he began a garden. The garden, as is the wont of gardens everywhere, kept getting larger and larger. Soon roaming hunters chanced upon the garden and were welcomed with open arms. They marveled to find such a place of plenty way out in the gloomy woods, and heard Fiacre preach and saw him heal, using medicines made from wildflowers and herbs. News spread far and wide. Fiacre was forced to build another hut for the visitors and further expand his garden, and, of course, he ran out of land. So he went to the Bishop and asked for more. [St. Fiacre] The Bishop, knowing a good thing when he saw it, granted the wish, saying, âFiacre, I will give you as much land as you can enclose with your spade in one day.â Back to his garden went Fiacre, and taking some sticks, he surveyed the amount of land he needed and marked its boundaries, an amount far in excess of what one man could hope to enclose with a simple shovel in one day. Then he went into the oratory and prayed for help. Now it so happened that an envious woman who lived nearby (she was probably an herbalist who, until Fiacre moved in, had advised all the peasants on their ailments and love lives) heard by the grapevine that he was up to something. So she hid in some bushes and watched the whole affair. By the next morning, the monkâs prayer was answered. All the land he had marked was now encircled by spadework. The woman went straight to the Bishop and accused Fiacre of magic. But when the Bishop saw what had happened, he called the event a miracle and proclaimed Fiacre a saint. He was so angered by the accusation of the woman, he called her a witch and denied Fiacreâs oratory to all women, for all time. Years later (I never found out if Fiacre died in the traditional grisly way or not), a great Benedictine Priory was built where the Saint had begun his solitary garden, and many wonders of healing were credited to his saintly relics. Then sometime in the 1600âs, probably as a result of population pressures brought on by urban sprawl, his remains were moved to the Cathedral at Meaux. There in 1641, Anne of Austria visited the shrine. She did not enter but remained outside the grating, mindful of the legend that any woman who went inside would go blind or mad. Of course, with the passing of years, the misogyny of Fiacre (or at least of his shrine) has apparently been forgotten. Otherwise, many women gardeners today would be up in arms and ask that the job of patron saint be given to the same Anne of Austria for her dalliances in the garden with the Three Musketeers, or to Lucrezia Borgia for her knowledge of herbal poisons. But where do taxi cabs come into the story? It seems in 1648, a gentleman by the name of Sauvage started an establishment that rented carriagesâthe sort of small, four-wheeled coaches hung with double springs. For the business, he bought a house in the Rue St. Martin called the Hotel de St. Fiacre that had a figure of the Saint over the doorway. Soon all the coaches of Paris were called fi acres. The drivers placed images of the Saint on their dashboards and named him their patron. [St. Fiacre] The tradition continues to this day, but judging by the taxi rides Iâve endured over the years, St. Fiacre has had far more influence on the gardeners of this world than the taxi drivers. â Illustrations by Jean Loewer Dear Reader, Did you know the background of St. Fiacre? Peter Loewer does a great job of sharing the rich history of the patron saint of gardening. GreenPrints has published many stories just like thisâ rich, interesting stories that share new (or historic) aspects of gardening. The Weederâs Reader includes more stories of with a bumper crop of wisdom, such as: - âThe Green Manâ from the Autumn 1994 issue
- âRemedial Weedingâ from the Summer 2004 issue
- âMy No-Grow Azaleasâ from the Winter 2005-06 issue
- And more! The Weederâs Reader is a fabulous compendium of some of the best stories GreenPrints has published over the years, all gathered into one wonderful special issue â a bonus issue available only to subscribers! Plus, we have dozens more inspirational stories in our Libraryâand coming up in future issues! Please read what some subscribers say about how GreenPrints affects their lives: âThe wonderful stories in the magazine have given me hope about mankind. We are surrounded by sad and difficult times in a polarized culture. Your heartful approach and spirit shine through. Thank you!â
âCathy Gornick, New Hartford, NY âIâm renewing for three years. Iâm not sure Iâll be around in three years. But I want to make sure you are!â
âSusan Ward, Middleton, WI âThank you, GreenPrints family, for providing calm, joy, and wisdom in these crazy times.â
âLee Ann Hawkins, Marion, IN Including this featured storyââThe Story of St. Fiacreââyou get all 16 stories in the GreenPrints Special Issue Weederâs Reader only with an [All-Access Membership](. Filled with stories that inspire, amuse, and heal, The Weederâs Reader, like all issues of GreenPrints, also includes specially commissioned artwork with every article, to enhance the stories and entertain youâillustrations that are thought-provoking and just plain fun! Here is what one subscriber says about GreenPrints: âThank you! BEST EVER Magazine!! It's like the finding a âtreasureâ in the mailbox. Artwork is amazing!â
âJo Glenn, Port Royal, PA Here are the stories included in The Weederâs Reader: - âMy New Yearâs Gardenâ
- âMy No-Grow Azaleasâ
- âOn the Art of Gardeningâ
- âOne Million Daisiesâ
- âThe Story of St. Fiacreâ
- âThe Obsessed Gardenerâ
- âA Penn Station Valentineâ
- âThe Joy of NonGardeningâ
- âLove and Daffodils Foreverâ
- âAtheists on My Houseplants!â
- âThe Green Manâ
- âLight Passes Through Meâ
- âRemedial Weedingâ
- âThe Most Important Toolâ
- âFlowers Grow in a Gardenâ
- âA Veteranâs Gardenâ [The Weeder's Reader]( For just $20, you can get [GreenPrints All-Access Membership]( for an entire yearâwith a whole yearâs worth of stories in a full subscription to GreenPrints ⦠and benefits galore â including your own copy of The Weederâs Reader, available only to subscribers! [$20 SPECIAL! GET A 67% DISCOUNT WHEN YOU CLAIM YOUR BENEFITS TODAY!]( [Claim your GreenPrints All-Access Membership now, and you get all the gardening stories to delight you, make you laugh, and fill you with heartwarming inspiration and motivation. Claim your benefits now!]( [ONLY $20 FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!]( Right now, youâre eligible for this limited-time invitationâto claim a premium [GreenPrints All-Access Membership]( with this Special Offer. You get a full year of membership in a club that provides you all the gardening stories to warm your heart, inspire you, and make you laugh. And for only $20 right now, thatâs 67% off the regular $60 price! [Introducing GreenPrints All-Access MembershipâOnly $20 for an Entire Year!]( [GreenPrints all access]( Your [GreenPrints All-Access Membership]( has privileges and benefits that are reserved exclusively for premium members like you. [Claim Your $20 Membership Now]( Summary of All-Access Membership Benefits 01 A full year of GreenPrints All-Access Membership, an exclusive club for those who want to enjoy the greatest gardening stories everâsave $40 off the annual cover price, a 67% discount! $60/year
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$20/year! 02 1-year subscription to GreenPrints Magazine, printable quarterly issues filled with humorous and heartwarming storiesâsent to you digitally as soon as issues are published! INCLUDED 03 Full and immediate access to the GreenPrints Digital Libraryâyour membership includes access to the current digital magazine issue and 30+ back issues, a digital version of The Weeder's Readerâplus the library is constantly growing with new content regularly added! INCLUDED 04 Instant and unlimited access to all GreenPrints Collectionsâcurated and comprehensive collections of stories from the heart, organized around specific topics such as humor, joy, romance, mystical and healing gardens, and gardening mishaps. And audio collections for your listening enjoyment! INCLUDED 05 Full access to quarterly Seasonal Garden Planning Calendar Kitsâdownloadable and printable! INCLUDED 06 GreenPrints InsiderâYou get our exclusive email newsletter, for premium members only, to guide you through the GreenPrints Library by highlighting articles, magazine issues, story collections, and audio collections that you won't want to missâdelivered regularly to your email inbox! INCLUDED 07 FREE BONUS: The Weederâs Readerâa compilation of the sixteen greatest stories ever published by GreenPrints. You get full and unlimited digital accessâand printable, too! FREE [Claim Your $20 Membership Now]( Become a [GreenPrints All-Access Member]( todayâwhile this special $20 offer lasts! Sincerely, [Bill Dugan]
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