In Finland Vivamo Quiet Garden in Finland opened in August 2007. The story began some years earlier, when Tuomo Salovuori found the web pages of The Quiet Garden Movement. Having a horticultural background and an interest in retreats, he found it a real inspiration. Tuomo has since been to England several times visiting Quiet Gardens and meeting people with similar interests. The highlight was a visit to Arley Quiet Garden for the 15th anniversary celebration last year. Back in Finland Tuomo shared the vision. He has built a Quiet Garden in Vivamo, where there is a Christian Centre beside Lake Lohja about 50 miles from Helsinki. Work began in 2005 behind the Church of the Broken Heart, where there was once a garden. In 2007 Hannu and Marko joined the team. Hannu is an artist who has worked with stones in the Quiet Garden. Marko, a horticulturist now studying theology in the University of Helsinki, is researching the use of gardens as a counselling environment. Friends of the Quiet Gardens was established to promote the ministry in Finland and support the maintenance of Vivamo’s beautiful environment. www.hiljaisuudenpuutarha.fi.

In South Africa Having been invited to visit Brenthurst Quiet Garden by a friend my husband and I found the silence so valuable we felt a strong need to be part of this ministry, writes Ronelle Baker. Lonehill is a suburb of Johannesburg. As in any large city, the levels of noise, the hurrying, the constant traffic leave us all exhausted and in need of solitude, silence and quiet. This ministry is so special -I believe that we hunger for and seek quiet and solitude for a specific reason. God wants us to spend time in his presence, to be able to reflect and come away refreshed - to be part of a ministry such as Quiet Gardens is a blessing. Lonehill Methodist Church is a plant from Bryanston Methodist Church. We worship in a school hall. We are blessed in that we have a large piece of land in Glenferness where we will be building our church. Once our church is built we will have our own Quiet Garden area. Meanwhile we found the ministry at Brenthurst to be of such value - the silence, the feeling of a retreat within a huge city, the restorative nature of a few hours of meditation - that we requested, and were granted, permission to use Brenthurst Gardens until that time.

Up ]