The desert will bloom

In 1939 L.Sr. Magdeleine laid out the palm grove at the very first fraternity, in Touggourt, Algeria. She dreamed of soon being able to survive on the dates, plus asparagus and apricots…She wrote to her mother, “Since we talked about making a garden, the seeds and seedlings have arrived.” And a few days later she added, “Soon the desert will bloom.” By March of 1940 some thirty palm trees had already been planted.

If L.Sr. Magdeleine desired such a plantation, it was to be able to share the living conditions of our Muslim neighbors, both nomadic and sedentary. She wanted the garden to provide a living for the community which she wished to establish there. And that is what happened. Not only did she realize her dream, but it continues to this day!

I arrived in Touggourt in 2010, so happy to be able to live in Algeria. I first stepped into our garden in the company of L.Sr. Solange-Paule. She gave me a tour of its every corner. We saw all the palm trees: I was impressed by the original ones, planted in the time of L.Sr. Magdeleine and now grown very tall. Others, of medium height, had been planted later by L.Sr. Gabrielle-Josèphe.

Then there were the flowers: chysanthemums, carnations, marigolds; plus the vegetables then in season: lettuce, radishes, maize, peppers…not to mention mint for preparing tea! The garden is very big. Not only was I glad to see it, I was moved. Yes, I very much love the earth, and nature. My thoughts went to work immediately, and all kinds of ideas came to me, just like had happened to L.Sr. Magdeleine in the old days.

I saw right away that we could plant flowers and vegetables in the rows between the palm trees. That way they could take advantage of the water we used to irrigate the trees. In fact the garden needs a lot of water, especially during summer when it’s very hot—the temperature can hit 45 to 55 degrees (113 to 131 degrees F.) or more. Fortunately there’s a well that supplies just enough water for the purpose.

We take very good care of the palm trees here because their dates are precious and of very good quality. Nine years ago we planted more trees, and they already bear large dates. Garden work is demanding, and we need help from the neighbors for certain tasks, like pollinating and pruning the trees, harvesting, spreading manure, and other heavy jobs.

Before I arrived the Little Sisters grew tomatoes, carrots, turnips, radishes, and lettuce, which we used for our own cooking.  And they were already raising flowers to sell, but just a small quantity.  They would make a few bouquets that they took to a friend’s vegetable stand, and the friend would sell them for us.

I saw this and it interested me a lot. Right away I wanted to sell our flowers, like the people around us sold the vegetables, dates, and fruit from their own gardens. The first day we tried this, I went out with L.Sr. Josèphe-Emmanuelle. We set up at the edge of the road across from the neighborhood clinic, and it went very well. Even magnificently!

Now we sell bouquets every morning. I discovered people love flowers, love beauty. They appreciate the ability to express themselves by the gesture of giving flowers for various occasions: betrothals, receiving visitors from Algiers, anniversaries, visits to the sick, births, marriages, the school graduations of their children…It’s good to know that we are helping to spread joy with our flowers.

Quickly enough we changed the placement of our stand. Now we sell in the market near our house. As soon as we have flowers, we fill our wheelbarrow and go to the market. And we get lots of direct orders as well. Sales can go very quickly, much faster than the work of picking the flowers and making the bouquets!

Working in the garden requires a lot of love, strength, passion, and perseverance. It’ very cold in winter, and extremely hot in summer. When spring comes the garden is magnificent, with all the flowers; but it’s also the time of sandstorms, and they’re terrible. From time to time the sirocco¹ blows  too, and it’s very hot. As for the rain, it blesses us once or twice a year. But there’s always plenty of work, no matter the season: weeding, watering, turning the ground to work in manure, and planting from the end of August to the beginning of September. I save the first crop of flowers in order to have seeds, but we also have friends who visit our garden and send us new kinds of seeds.

I love working in our garden around the palm trees. When things grow here and produce good fruit, it is for me a symbol of perseverance, of abundance, and of the blessings God gives his people. When I see it all I think of the grace of God, who is always there within me, who walks beside me on the way. With him I want to continue sowing seeds, planting flowers in my own life and in the lives of others.

L.Sr. Maria-Thuy-Linh, with L.Srs. Beatrice-Nanjuchi and Henia

1. Hot, dry wind blowing off the Sahara, which can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa ↩︎