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Connecticut Horticultural Society

NEWS LETTER

The CHS Newsletter is published 10 times a year and offers informative articles, news about horticultural happenings,  and other information of interest to Connecticut Gardeners. Join today and get on the list for monthly mailings: Membership Application . Until then enjoy the main article featured in the April 2002 edition below:

A Garden for a Community
by Debi Weinberg

It was a small patch of earth, sandwiched between the new building and the parking lot, dissected by a wide concrete walkway into two islands. The new building was wonderful. The contractor planted two lollypop-shaped trees, plopped ivy in the dual islands in the front of the building entrance, and left. Soon, rampant weeds and ivy were gracing the two islands.
How would we tackle this, with no budget set aside for gardens? The landscaping budget was meant for lawn mowing. Members of Congregation Kol Haverim (Glastonbury) decided to take a community approach to remedial landscaping. On a cold spring day, a small group of garden aficionados from the congregation walked the grounds to survey the opportunities that presented themselves. The plant inventory was thin - some Stella de Oro daylilies, the mutated Japanese maples and ivy, arbor vitae against one side of the building, a smattering of box and yews against another side.

The easy solution, and one that would require little money, would be to pull the ivy, reshape the trees and grass the two areas. But the discussion brought looks of horror to the small group. They decided to take on the task of creating a garden for this community, a garden that would be appreciated every time a member of the congregation came into the building.

Although the grounds surrounding all four sides of the building could use a gardener's touch, the group voted to contain the first-year effort to the two islands in front of the entrance. No discussion was made as to style or layout. The goal was to remove the ivy and weeds and fill the two islands with as many beautiful plants as could be obtained, for free. A note was included in the congregational newsletter, outlining the front-yard efforts. It was suggested that potted plants be used instead of cut flowers at various events held at the building. Any plant used as decor on a Friday night or Saturday could be left outside for the Sunday morning planting crew. A home would be found for every plant.

Working with the local nurseries, we soon were able to adorn the inside, and later the outside, with tulips, day lilies, pieris, azaleas and small rhodies. Initially the plant pots would be wrapped in colorful foils and adorned with bows. One gardener coordinated plant combinations with the Bar Mitzvah parents, providing perennial table displays that would later be planted as a tribute to this life-event celebration.

"Come over to my house. I have lots of plants that can be divided." The Sunday morning planting crew began to field offers as people drove by the emerging garden. An afternoon of foraging at one home yielded Siberian iris, sedum, rudbeckia, penstemon, pink yarrow and shasta daisies. Members of the congregation began to offer divisions and cuttings, bulbs and bushes. The volunteers would find offerings left by the hose reel. Soon the islands included monarda, trillium, coreopsis, cosmos and astilbe.
The garden volunteers divided into two groups, the weekend planters/weed pullers and the weekday waterers. This split of responsibilities allowed many members of the community to become involved in their community garden.

In working to meet the first-year goal of filling the beds (we'd rearrange/transplant later), there was only one backfire. A load of donated mulch was infected with ancillary fungus. In August, as heat and moisture built, the spores started shooting off, leaving little black spots everywhere - on sidewalks, the pillars of the building, on clothing. The solution, as recommended by the Connecticut Extension Service, was to turn over and bury the mulch in the soil and hope for a cold winter. After spending hours to spread mulch, we had to spend hours to turn it over or remove it.
As the first-year garden for the Kol Haverim community started to bloom, butterflies made a daily dance at the door. Fresh flowers could be cut and brought into the offices and classrooms. And when the fall arrived, the annual bulb sale at CHS provided hundreds of daffodils at bargain prices.
In two summers, the eyesore at the front door has been transformed into a point of pride. Each donated item is labeled, to allow those walking by to learn about the plantings. Residents from the local condo complex stroll past this community garden and offer comments of appreciation. And in 2002, the community's gardeners will be ready to divide many of the donated plants, from daisies and boltonia to self-sowing columbine. You see, there is another spot for a garden, on the other side of the parking lot.

A member of CHS, Debi Weinberg gardens in Glastonbury. She is part of a rotating group of volunteers who forage for, and maintain, the gardens at Congregation Kol Haverim on Hebron Avenue in Glastonbury.