Donating to the community is an important part of the club’s mission. Here are our current projects.

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Herbert T. Clark House

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Our main civic project at the Herbert T. Clark House includes three perennial gardens completely installed and maintained by members. These gardens were established for the enjoyment of the residents at this congregate living facility as well as for the community.  

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Tulip Planting at the Fountain

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Each Fall, our club purchases tulip bulbs which members plant near the fountain at the Town Center for residents to enjoy in the Spring.  

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Civic Donations 

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Each year, committees review the potential civic and educational projects in need of funding and present their findings to the membership. Projects are then selected by a vote of the membership.

 

Previous Civic Donations have included a gift to the Glastonbury Partners in Planting to replace trees damaged by storms, the greenhouse project at the Gideon Welles School, funding for the Vocational-Agricultural program at Glastonbury High School, the Buttonball School courtyard project and wildflowers for the J.B. Williams Park.  

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Educational Scholarships 

 

Our educational fund awards scholarships or grants each year.  Recipients have included individual students graduating from Glastonbury High School, the Glastonbury High School Vocational-Agricultural Department, UConn and the Connecticut Audubon Society in Glastonbury.

 

The 2023 winner of the Hill and Dale Garden Club $1,000 scholarship is Fejza Akaratovic. He is a recent graduate of Glastonbury High School Vo-Ag Program. He is a member of the National Honor Society and a member and past president of a chapter of the Future Farmers of America. Fejza will be attending Paul Smith College majoring in Fish and Wildlife Management. He aspires to be a "wildlife/fisheries biologist, to preserve our natural wonders for years to come." 

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In June of 2022 we awarded $1,000 to Annika Hurley, a Glastonbury H.S. senior. Annika interned at Old Sturbridge Village in the historic gardens, working with the Director of Horticulture, learning about 19th Century gardening and its close connection to modern environmentalism. She will attend the State University of New York, Geneseo, studying Environmental Studies, with a major in Sustainability Studies.

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Holiday Wreaths

 

Along with the other Glastonbury garden clubs, we make Christmas wreaths for the three Glastonbury libraries and the Riverfront Community Center.

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New Landscaping at the Herbert T. Clark gardens

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In 2022, the Club decided to improve the looks of the main wall of the Clark House which was void of any landscaping; and thus, looked barren

compared to the remainder of the site.  The Club subsequently applied and received a grant from the Sestero Fund of the Hartford Foundation

for Public Giving to supplement the Hill and Dale contribution and help complete this project. The commttee of Linda DeGroff, Kathy Michaud and Sherry LaGreca worked to bring this project to fruition in 2023.

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The goal with the new garden was to add visual interest to the wall, while keeping maintenance as minimal as possible.  To that end, the 

landscape plan features Red Obelisk Beach trees and a mix of native and non-native shrubs and perennial grasses that require very little to

no maintenance and will not block residents' window views.  The plant materials were chosen based on a color palette that would complement

the brick building, with the intent to provide year-round interest and provide for the wildlife.  The shrubs include Viburnum (PT Brandywine),

.Azalea (Encore Roblec Autumn Carnation), Holly (Ilex Messerveae Blue Princess) and Juniper(Blueberry Delight).  In addition, the Grant funds allowed us to extend the existing irrigation to include this area so that the new plantings will thrive.

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On any given spring, summer and fall day, you can find many residents and their families sitting amongst the gardens enjoying this natural refuge.

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