Welcome To Elizabeth Park

Network for Good is an organization that provides online credit card transactions for non-profit organizations like the Friends of Elizabeth Park.

Who We Are:

The Friends of Elizabeth Park, formed in 1977 as a non-profit organization, has worked with the city of Hartford to ensure the integrity and future of the park. In 1977, the park was being neglected and in need of major improvements to remain viable. Through the efforts of a dedicated group of volunteers, funds were raised over the years to renovate and improve the gardens and buildings, purchase plants and supplies, and increase the awareness and enjoyment of Elizabeth Park. The Friends also organize several free-to-the-public events and fundraisers to support new gardens, major projects, and historical restorations.

Our Mission:

The mission of the Friends of Elizabeth Park shall be to support, maintain, preserve, restore and promote Elizabeth Park as a regional horticultural park for the education, enjoyment, and appreciation of the park’s current and future generations. The Friends of Elizabeth Park recognize that we are stewards of a legacy, which includes an historic park and its centerpiece, the oldest municipally owned rose garden in the country.

Ongoing Projects, Programs, Events & Tours:

The area that is now known as Elizabeth Park was once owned by Charles H. Pond. Mr. Pond was a wealthy industrialist and statesman whose career included the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, Hartford National Bank, and Treasurer of the State of Connecticut. When Mr. Pond passed away, he willed his estate to the City of Hartford with the stipulations that it be used as a horticultural park and that it be named for his wife, Elizabeth, who had died a few years earlier. This first planting grew from 100 bushes to the two and a half acre garden of some 15,000 bushes that is the centerpiece of Elizabeth Park and is known throughout the world. Today the park encompasses 102 acres and boasts many garden areas, pathways, greenhouses, lawns, a picnic grove, a pond and recreation areas.

Volunteers	Rose Garden	Greenhouse Tulip Display

The Friends of Elizabeth Park depend on donations from individuals, corporations and organizations to help maintain the beauty and integrity of Elizabeth Park and it's historic Rose Garden. The Friends also employ consultants such as a Rosarian, additional gardeners, a Garden specialist, and an executive director to assist in this preservation effort.

Thank You For Your Generosity

Elizabeth Park, with the historic rose gardens as the centerpiece, is a unique regional treasure and resource. Few free urban landscapes are so meticulously maintained, attract such a broad range of
people or evoke such strong positive feelings among visitors past and present.

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