By Julia Barcello
This year, The Garden Club of Old Greenwich (GCOG) is celebrating its 100th Anniversary. The Club consists of members throughout Greenwich who are dedicated to “stimulate[ing] an interest in the cultivation of plants, flowers and the making of gardens, and to promote community and civic betterment” stated Wendy Yu, one of the club presidents. GCOG has launched many projects throughout town from building gardens to awarding scholarships, and even a garden therapy group. In order to help complete these projects, The Garden Club receives general donations in addition to their annual plant sale, the Saturday before Mother’s Day.
GCOG annually hosts ten meetings, generally held the second Friday of each month at noon where they discuss new projects and often host professionals to speak about particular aspects of gardening. Seven of the ten meetings are ‘Open Meetings’ in which all members of the community are invited to attend if interested in discussing gardening in Greenwich.
As for their more recent projects, nearly one year ago GCOG established a garden in the new traffic island at Tomac and Lockwood Avenues in Old Greenwich. The public/private project is just one of the many beautiful ways of preserving and introducing more natural beauty in Greenwich. The island garden prospers each spring with daffodils and tulips, summer with irises, roses and nepeta flowers, and fall with gorgeous blooming allium.
The club spent approximately $2,500 to purchase 72 perennials and over 125 bulbs, upgrade the soil, and mulch the flower beds. “We were careful to select plants that would put on a Spring through Fall colorful display” stated Ellie Bowman, President of The Garden Club of Old Greenwich.
While the garden on the traffic island is prospering, it also experiences a few setbacks due to its location. The island was unfortunately destroyed when a large truck ran over the corner of the island leaving many plants damaged. A club member was also nearly hit, thankfully an old horse hitching post took the impact. These issues opened the members eyes to serious concerns about the completion of their projects. As a resolution, the group purchased safety vests and cones to place while working in hazardous zones.
Overall, the project at the Tomac and Lockwood Road Traffic Island has been flourishing. The spring rain has provided the traffic island with nutrients helping the bulbs sprout. As the hot summer days begin to arrive, the plantings are now dependent on Darrin Wigglesworth and the town water truck group to provide water.
Looking towards the future, The Garden Club seeks to pursue a number of similar projects throughout Greenwich. They are working on scouting locations to begin a project for their centennial celebration.
If interested in joining, donating, or are simply intrigued in learning about the club’s presence in Greenwich, visit their website, www.gardenclubofoldgreenwich.org.
