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July 2008 All events are FREE unless noted
Visit the web site
for more information and current scheduled events |
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Contents Wine & Roses |
Photo: John Mattia |
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Super Saturday Volunteer Days July 12 July 26 9:00 am - noon Bring your garden gloves & meet us at the Rose Garden
Summer care of Roses Workshop Noon & 6:30 pm Rose Garden Gazebo July 8
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July Calendar 7/2 History Walking Tour ~ 10 am Information Center. 7/2 Floyd Patterson Band ~ 6:30 pm Rose Garden lawn. 7/8 Summer Care of Roses Workshop ~ 12 noon & 6:30 pm Rose Gazebo. 7/9 Sophisticats String Band ~ 6:30 pm Rose Garden Lawn. 7/10 Perennial Garden Tour ~ 6:30 pm Perennial Garden. 7/12 Super Saturday ~ Volunteer Day 9 am to 12 pm ~ Rose Garden.
7/12 & 7/13 Greater Hartford Bonzai Society 27th Annual Show
11:00am 7/16 Sounds of Sinatra Band ~ 6:30 pm ~ Rose Garden lawn 7/23 River City Slim & Zydego Hogs Band ~ 6:30 pm Rose Garden lawn. 7/24 Perennial Garden Tour ~ 6:30 pm ~ Perennial Garden. 7/26 Super Saturday ~ Volunteer Day 9 am to 12 pm ~ Rose Garden. 7/30 Stone Canyon Band ~ 6:30 pm ~ Rose Garden lawn. |
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2008 Summer Concert Series
Sponsored by Aetna & The Evelyn Preston Fund Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 pmRose Garden Lawn. If Rain, Pond House.Bring a picnic dinner or order take out from the Pond House Café |
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Have you seen the 2008 Elizabeth Park gardens yet? They are spectacular! You might be surprised by how many people have helped to put on the show. Below are some photos of volunteer groups who were busy in the gardens right up to Rose Weekend. |
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Richard Murkland shares photos of
his group’s Elizabeth Park Volunteer Day -
See his online photo album at http://www.flickr.com/photos/richarddigitalphotos/sets/72157605662162404 |
 United Healthcare volunteers – June 2008 |
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Nancy Mixter, a long time Friends of Elizabeth Park Board member and rosarian enjoys a family visit to the rose garden on June 18th. “The roses in the garden and on the fences were full of color. I was very impressed with all the care and maintenance that made the park such a particularly beautiful place.” |
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The first Wine & Roses fundraiser was a fantastic success & exceeded all of our goals. Watch for it to become an annual event! Read Krystian von Speidel’s account, with lots of photos at Social Studies Thank you to all of those who attended and supported this Event, and to the Wine & Roses Committee who made it happen. The funds raised will have a dramatic impact on the “Friends” ability to preserve, improve and protect Elizabeth Park as well as extending the legacy of Charles Pond’s most generous gift to the people of Hartford , West Hartford and places beyond.
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Photo:
Elina, Rose Show Queen by John Mattia |
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Historical Walking Tours of Elizabeth Park July 2 August 2 & August 20 September 9 & September 20 10 am at the Information Center
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Be entertained & informed by expert perennial Bill Turrull. A Hartford Magazine Best Bet!
July 10 July 24 Meet at the Perennial Garden at 6:30 pm
Closing Your Perennial Garden Workshop Sept 24 noon Meet at the Perennial garden Rain location- Information Center |
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Annual Garden in June Photo: John Mattia
Tours of the Annual Garden are offered on August 5 & September 2 At 6:30 pm Meet in the Annual Garden
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Artists of the Month: Jenny Weinholtz & Ann Klicka |
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Jenny Weinholtz
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Ann Klicka’s Artist Statement
As primarily a conceptual sculptor and installation artist, drawing and painting have always functioned as mediation for me. My two dimensional works give me a place where I can be both the creator and the created. It is in these places that I work to show the beauty and serenity of a moment, and peace that can be found every day. I concentrate on landscapes and portraits, always working from life. To me, the work is just as much about the process of creation as it is the final creation.
Ann Klicka is currently a senior at the University of Hartford. While her concentration is school is sculpture, she still remains devoted to painting, drawing and collage. Contact: Klicka@hartford.edu
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The Elizabeth Park Croquet Players play on the greens at Asylum Avenue on Wednesdays beginning around 4 pm and Sundays around 1:30 pm. Weather and player availability permitting, we play mid-May
Weather and player availability permitting, we play mid-May thru October. There is no fee. Walk-ins (flat soled shoes or sneakers) are welcome. Contact Bobbi Shorthouse 860-608-1222 or bobbi@NotaryServicesLLC.com. |
Greater Hartford Bonsai Society’s 27th Annual Bonsai Show Pond House
July 12 11:00am - 6:00pm
July 13 10:00am - 4:00pm
Adults $3.00, Children (6-12) $2.00 For information call 203.639.1819 http://www.greaterhartfordbonsai.com/
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Lawn Bowling - relaxing and fun for all ages! Thistle Lawn Bowling Club members are usually at Elizabeth Park at 1:00 Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays. We invite you to come watch and/or stay for free instructions.
Contact Zane Gershman at 233-6860 for information about lawn bowling in Elizabeth Park |
Another Day in the park…with David Wilson, Friends of Elizabeth Park Director Many visitors to the park cannot help but notice the construction taking place near the entrance on Prospect Avenue and have inquired about the road blocking activity. Many of you may be familiar with the Ethel Donaghue Trust, which was created by Ms. Ethel Donaghue, a neighbor to the park for many years. For over 10 years the Ethel Donaghue Trust has supported many of the park’s improvements and now the trustees have decided to create a memorial in honor of Ethel Donaghue. The plan includes a formal entrance to the park which Elizabeth Park has never had flanked by pillars of stone and arbors. The plan also includes reconstruction of the walkway leading to the pond area where sidewalks intersect. There in that location will be granite stone, creating an oval-shaped memorial flush to the ground with significant words about Ethel Donaghue. When the project is completed, we believe the public will be very pleased and understand how many improvements to the park came to pass. We always ask our friends of the park to give in the spirit of Ethel Donaghue and Charles Pond.Another recent project underway from the Ethel Donaghue Trust in cooperation with the Friends of Elizabeth Park is to have electricity brought to the stage area, which will be available to musical groups holding free community concerts in Elizabeth Park.More on Ethel Donaghue and Elizabeth Park…Ethel F. Donaghue was a resident of West Hartford for nearly 60 years, living just a short distance from Elizabeth Park. In addition to creating the Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation, her Will established a much smaller trust in her own name to conduct capital improvement projects in the park she lived near and loved so much. Beginning in 1991, the Ethel F. Donaghue Trust for Elizabeth Park has already spent several hundreds of thousands in park improvements, including a major tree pruning and maintenance effort, and the building of the Sunrise Overlook on the east side of the park. It has contributed to the improvements to the Pond House, restoration of the two green houses and the historic orchid green house and paid for the granite curbing and crosswalks in the expanded parking area near the Asylum Avenue entrance. The Trust has also paid for numerous other smaller efforts over the years. The most recent projects funded by the Trust are a new gateway for the Prospect Avenue entrance and a small, quiet sitting area at the confluence of the existing paths just south of the pond and slightly east of the larger of the two bridges. This sitting area serves as a memorial to Ethel |
How Will You Be Remembered? Let us help you make History!
Be part of preserving the nation’s oldest Municipal Rose Garden in ELIZABETH PARK.
Friends of Elizabeth Park PO Box 370361 West Hartford, CT 06137 860-231-9443
Dedicated to assisting the City of Hartford in the maintenance and preservation of the Elizabeth Park Rose Garden for over 30 years.
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Peonies bloom on peony trees A cat doesn’t become a chicken. Tulips are tulips, not roses. Why can’t we realize this true fact? That to be me is great. I don’t have to be anyone but me. I am blooming as I am in life, just as a peony blooms on a peony tree. Further, a beautiful peony flower does not worry about when it will wilt and fall to the ground. It does not compete with the flower next to it; Rather it blooms with its whole self.
--- Sensei Ogui from “Zen Shin Talks” ---
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Gautama Buddha regularly gathered his disciples to teach them and guide them in ways to find the “higher truths” that would lead them to a better way of life, i.e., Nirvana. Buddha wanted his followers to appreciate how they fit into Nature and by doing so be able to find this inner peace. At one of these gatherings, Zen Buddhism was born in the “Flower Sermon”, when Gautama Buddha silently held up a lotus flower for his disciples’ contemplation. Without saying a single word, he allowed them to find meaning and insight by simply gazing at the lotus flower. “Zen” was a new way to find wisdom though direct experiences and interactions between the priests and their followers. Zen Buddhism uses these spontaneous and direct experiences rather than only looking to doctrines or scriptures for guidance. It is easy to see that Sensei Ogie, a Zen Buddhist priest, is finding peace within himself in contemplating the peony blooms. He is also finding happiness as he understands how he fits in with nature and in the “great scheme” of things. He is content to be where he is at the present moment and is not worrying about the future.
May and June are the months when peonies put on their annual display of big colorful blooms. They are considered old fashioned favorites in many gardens across America, especially in New England. Peonies are in the buttercup family and were first found and cultivated in China. There are two main types of peonies, herbaceous and woody. Herbaceous peonies bloom on new growth that rises up in straight stalks each spring and then dies back after the first hard frost. These herbaceous peonies are familiar to most of us and are capable of being divided.
Tree peonies are quite different. Descendants of p. suffruticosa, found in western China, tree peonies maintain a shrub like form. They have a woody branching habit which allows the growth above the soil level to survive the winters in northern climates. There are many varieties of tree peonies some of which may grow up to six feet tall. It is easy to understand that tree peonies will provide a focal point to accent to any perennial garden. Both types of peonies are relatively easy to grow, last for years and are attractive throughout the entire growing season. Last fall, Elizabeth Park was the proud recipient of a fantastic collection of tree peonies. This collection was given to us by a single donor and represents one of the finest collections of tree peonies in Connecticut. They are planted on the west side of the perennial garden as well as in other locations around the information center. This generous gift is a great addition to the park.
Peonies come in many varieties and colors and will provide structure and interest in almost any perennial garden. Why not try some peonies in your own garden? Here are a few tips on growing peonies:
· Choose the right site – peonies need about 6 hours of sun. They do like some afternoon shade in warmer climates. However, they bloom better in climates with hard freezes. · Prepare the site properly – Peonies don’t like to be moved, but are long-lived if they are not disturbed, so proper soil preparation is essential to success. Good drainage, a neutral soil (pH of 7.0 or just slightly lower), organic matter and compost will all help to keep them happy. · The best time to plant or divide HERBACEOUS peonies is in the early fall to allow them sufficient time to establish root systems before winter. Planting depth is critical. Don’t plant bare root divisions more than two inches below the soil surface. Plant potted peonies at the same depth as they are growing in the pot, exactly even with the soil line. · Water deeply during dry periods. 2-4 inches of organic mulch will help to conserve soil moisture. · Pruning away side buds as soon as they appear will help produce larger flowers. Remove flowers as soon as they fade to prevent nutrient robbing seed production. · Staking if often necessary herbaceous peonies. “Peony Hoops” work the best. · Fertilize in the early spring with 5-10-10 or something similar and again half way through the growing seasoning. Try to avoid direct contact of fertilizer with the plant or the roots. · Disease issues are often preventable by choosing the right site, having good air circulation, proper soil conditions and removal of diseased plant parts, spent blossoms and old stalks. Botrytis is the most common disease of peonies. If you decide to spray for disease, identify the disease, check the label of the product you’re using and apply with caution. · Ants will often be seen feeding on a sweet secretion found in the blossoms, but will do no damage to the plant itself. · Cut back all stalks of herbaceous peonies down to the ground in the fall. Remove and destroy the clippings to prevent the spread of disease. NOTE: THIS ONLY APPLIES TO HERBACEOUS PEONIES. DO NOT CUT DOWN TREE PEONIES!!!
Not all gardeners are Zen Buddhists, but all gardeners learn how to appreciate their place in the universe. Gardening teaches all of us to look beyond ourselves in quiet places of retreat where we might find true meaning in our lives. Just like Ogie’s peony, we can also feel that “to be me is great” and “bloom with our own self”! What better place to contemplate nature and to feel good about yourself than in Elizabeth Park? Have a great summer gardening! See you in the park!
Dave Peterson, President |
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The Friends of Elizabeth Park has helped the City of Hartford to care for the park since its incorporation in 1977. Call the Information Center at (860) 231-9443 for announcements, changes, and updates. Send e-mail to elizabeth_park@sbcglobal.net
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