By Anne W. Semmes
With the hospitality of the Sam Bridge Nursery, the volunteering artistry of those Japanese ladies, and the support of Greenwich Green and Clean (GG&C), those Winter Hanging Baskets will soon grace Greenwich Avenue and surrounds.
“They will arrive the day after Thanksgiving,” said Kanako MacLennan, GG&C executive director.
MacLennan welcomed this reporter inside the Sam Bridge Nursery greenhouse provided to GG&C since 2016, with new supportive raised tables gifted to aid those artist ladies. Piled on one table were four different greens of Douglas fir, white pine, cedar and juniper. “This is Phase Two of the Winter Hanging Baskets Assembly,” said MacLennan, “The first Phase we met at Mary Hull’s house the middle of October creating over 250 red ribbons in two days.”
Mary Hull has presided over the summer and winter hanging baskets project for decades, with now two dozen and more Japanese ladies’ volunteering. On this Tuesday some 15 were working away. “Some come for a few hours, some come for the entire day, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” told MacLennan. With the work beginning this past Monday, by the end of Wednesday 120 baskets would be built.
Those winter baskets come with a bit of ivy after the removal of the summer begonias, to be filled to bursting with greens, red berries, frosted pinecones and red bows. “It takes some 20 minutes, some 30 minutes, and on their first day, an hour,” MacLennan said to build a basket.
MacLennan introduced Chieko Dunne who’s been building baskets for GG&C for 19 years. “Since 2005,” said Dunne. “Since I moved here – my husband’s American and grew up here.” MacLennan herself had started as a hanging basket project volunteer with GG&C seven years ago to become its executive director.
She then introduced the two co-chairs of this year’s Hanging Basket Project: Kozue Sato and Tomomi Kawamura. “These two ladies are succeeding from two other ladies.”
And on basket hanging day Sam Bridge Nursery steps up. “After Thanksgiving,” said MacLennan, “There are usually two trucks that go down the Avenue early in the morning. Each truck has three people. One driver, one holding up, one person hanging. We are very grateful for what they do.”
