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09/17/2024 02:47 PMIf the town seems exceptionally green and beautiful most days, there’s a good chance you’re looking at the hard work of the Guilford Garden Club. Founded in 1939, the club is celebrating its 85th anniversary as one of the oldest organizations in town.
According to a press release from the club, the group has taken on a number of large-scale projects, including their long-term investment of planting hundreds of trees throughout town.
“Our long-term investment in the environment has been the planting of hundreds of street trees. To begin, 100 trees were planted along Route 1. For the 375th anniversary of Guilford, each fourth grader was given a tree to plant from the garden club. To continue our vision, from the inception of the Guilford Tree Advisory Board, the Guilford Garden Club has been represented on this board continuing to fund the planting of hundreds of street trees in downtown Guilford,” according to the release.
In addition to its downtown efforts, flower boxes at both the Guilford Free Library and Town Hall are filled by members of the club regularly throughout the spring and the summer months, something that members also do for the nearby historic Thomas Griswold House. The club also maintains the garden where State Street becomes Little Meadow Road.
For its 85th anniversary, the garden club is donating a Blue Star Memorial Marker at Rollwood Park on Stone House Lane. According to the release, the marker will honor the armed forces, past, present, and future. The marker will be installed in the spring of 2025.
“The club is thrilled to dedicate this marker to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the club’s founding,” according to the release.
Coming up, the garden club is preparing for a number of town events, including marching in the Guilford Fair Parade on Saturday, Sept. 21, and participating in the Walk On Broad Street on Dec. 6. According to Carolyn Stephan, the publicity coordinator for the club, the group will be participating in Walk on Broad Street, hosting their own fundraiser. Custom wreaths and Christmas decorations will be just a few of the items sold by the club, with proceeds going towards maintaining plants and flowers throughout the town and scholarships for Guilford students looking to pursue their higher education in environmental science.
The group is affiliated with the Connecticut, New England, and National Garden Clubs and boasts a whopping 85 members, including five master gardeners, according to the release.
For more information on the Guilford Garden Club, visit www.guilfordgardenclub.org.