Members of the East Lyme Garden Club took advantage of the beautiful weather on Saturday, October 31, to clean up two local gardens in East Lyme.  They spent the morning, weeding, cleaning up, and trimming overgrown plants to add some much needed definition to the Children's Cancer Memorial Garden in front of the East Lyme Public Library.  This garden was created in 2007-08 as a service project of the Student Planning Association of East Lyme Youth Services and is packed with beautiful donated perennials to welcome Library and Community Center patrons while remembering special children in our community. The East Lyme Garden Club has added a plethora of spring flowering bulbs each autumn and the children continue to add specimens and care for it in the spring.

Afterward and into early afternoon, club members continued their efforts on the large hillside Community Garden behind the Community Center/Library building. Summer Shasta and fall blooming Montauk daisies were added as well as some other summer blooming perennials. Overgrown specimens were shaped for fall and many prolific plants from the wet summer were tamed.  The Community Garden covers the two sides of the large hill, lying between the library and the historic Smith Harris House, that follow along the Library and Senior Center wings of the East Lyme Community Center. The garden can be viewed through the tall foyer doors to the right of the Library's inside entrance, and through the large back windows of the Senior Center Dining Room. East Lyme Garden Club members created this garden in the 1990s, and has added to and maintained it since then to increase its multi-seasonal interest.  A bench and some bird feeders create a beautiful spot to rest and enjoy a library book or a sunny afternoon visit with friends.

Last Spring the EL Garden Club took on a new project at the Pavilion behind the East Lyme Town Hall where their annual May Mart sale is held.  Profits from their 2008 sale were used to fund a major excavation of overgrown shrubs and plants, bushes and brush that surrounded the pavilion.  This opened up the view in and out of the facility.  Beds were cleared of overgrown daylilies and weeds and fresh mulch was placed to showcase the beautiful established hosta plantings specimen bushes, and Kousa Dogwood tree.  The improvements have made the Pavilion a much safer and more inviting site for public use.  The club hopes to be able to continue to maintain and improve this garden as well.  The club consists of working members and meets at 7 in the evening on the 2^nd Monday of the month at the Community Center.  They are always looking for new members who have an interest in nurturing the town's gardens and civic plantings, learning about gardening, and enjoying the company and shared wisdom of other local gardeners.

  For more information about the club email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .