“Annual seeds of Love”, a yearly gardening project, is powered by highly motivated volunteers. Borrowing from the life of Shirdi Sai Baba  [1] who loved to plant marigold saplings in the “lendi baugh”; devotees of Baba created this garden at Shirdi Sai Mandir in Hampshire, IL.

Frequency:

Each year in spring, annuals, perennials and seasonal vegetables are planted in the garden.  The flowers that bloom each day are used in daily worship and in making garlands that adorns the idol in the mandir (temple).  The vegetables are used in cooking daily offerings (Naivedhya) to Shri Sainath Maharaj.

How do I participate:

You can join in the project by volunteering physically or by sponsoring to plant and maintain the garden.  Typically volunteers gather in Spring to clear out any residual waste or weeds from last year and prepare the beds for planting annuals and vegetable plants.  Once planted, next step is to ensure the beds are covered with mulch or sheets to prevent growth of weeds. Irrigation system is set up to automatically water the gardens at desired frequency. Fertilizer and pesticides are applied through summer to ensure proper growth and spread of disease in the garden.  Regular maintenance is done through the growing season. When winter arrives perennials are pruned and garden is covered with sheets to protect from frost and snow.

Are you ready to get your hands dirty?

Does gardening interest you? Do you want to send offerings to Baba?  If so, get your hands dirty and volunteer or join us in Annaul Seeds of Love, a novel activity which Baba himself used to engage during his sojourn at Shirdi.

I wish to help, how do I go about it?

If you have suggestions, comments or can help in any way, please do not hesitate to send us an email listed in the footer section of the site.  When you join us in this activity, not only will you get the joy of giving but also we will invoke your name during the various prayer services held through the season.

@inbook{SatcGunajiChap2,
title = "Shri Sai Satcharitra",
author = "N. V. Gunaji",
pages = "100-122",
chapter = "2",
publisher = "Shree Sai Baba Sansthan",
note = "Refers to garden",
year = 1970
}