On Going Club Projects

Civic Beautification

Seasonal plantings are provided and maintained throughout Acton. These include: the Acton Town Hall Oval and planters, the troughs in both Acton Center and West Acton; the barrels along Mass. Ave. in West Acton, the barrels at the Acton Memorial Library, at the fire stations, and the Citizen’s Library; as well as the barrels and ground plantings at the public safety building.

There are four plantings a year; the first being the pansies in the Spring, followed by the summer plantings in early June, with these plants chosen for sunny or shady locations. The fall plantings often include chrysanthemums and kale, with the kale staying in place for the final arrangements of winter greenery, which concludes our year.

Acton Arboretum Herb Garden

The Acton Arboretum Herb Garden, maintained for the Town of Acton by the Acton Garden Club as one of our community service activities, is sited in an old stone foundation and features herbs that might have been grown in a mid-nineteenth century kitchen garden.

In this garden, designed by Club member, Sue Whitcomb, and planted in 1989, herbs are grouped according to their mid-nineteenth century usage for household, medicinal, and culinary purposes, as well as for teas and fragrance. The garden provides a beautiful and educational focal point in the main area of the Arboretum.

For Historical Information Click on the picture

Meeting House Hill Gardens
Wildflower Garden and Daffodil Run

Meeting House Hill, the geographical center of Acton at Nagog Hill Road and Main Street, was the site of the Town’s first meeting house, the establishment of which was one of the conditions of the Act of Incorporation of the Town of Acton from Concord in 1735.

Today, this historic site is home to two garden gems known as Daffodil Run and the Wildflower Garden. Maintained by the Acton Garden Club with assistance from the Town’s Municipal Properties Department, Daffodil Run is a visual mass of spring blooms with seasonal interest through the fall while the Wildflower Garden invites visitors to stroll the garden paths to discover the many native woodland plants.

Wildflower Garden

Located along Nagog Hill Road in the historic site of Meeting House Hill, the Wildflower Garden has become the Club’s ‘garden in the woods.’ Over the last several years, committee members received design guidance from Sue Whitcomb, and have transformed a random collection of plant material into garden areas that are home to over 100 varieties of wildflowers and an impressive collection of trees and shrubs. Generous donations of both rare and native plants from the personal gardens of Sue Whitcomb and Fred Knippel have created visual interest throughout the entire garden, and the Garden Club expresses its genuine appreciation to both.

A highlight of the garden last fall was the arrival of three large stones from NARA Park to complete a sitting area in the garden mid way along the main path. With a backdrop of Rhododendrons bureyak ‘Yaku Princess,’ ‘Calsap,’ ‘Lugano’ and ‘Crete’ from Fred Knippel’s garden, major renovations for this area were completed. This is a wonderful space to enjoy a visual panorama of the entire garden.

The newest additions to the garden this spring are Sue Whitcomb’s gift of Corylopsis pauciflora (Buttercup winter hazel) a bushy, spreading shrub with pale yellow flowers in early spring and a double flowered Trillium from her own garden (see History of the Double White Trillium on page 15).

To enhance both plant recognition and accomplish garden maintenance, mentoring groups were established and individual areas of the garden assigned to each group. At the northern edge of the garden, members maintain a nursery area for plants that can be grown and potted the following spring for the annual Plant Sale. Members dug 128 plants for this year’s sale!

Plans to better define this area of the garden are underway along with summer watering and garden maintenance schedules. The dedication of the committee continues to keep the Wildflower Garden a true gem to be enjoyed by all.

Daffodil Run

Located on the embankment along Main Street near Nagog Hill Road, Daffodil Run is the most visible garden of Meeting House Hill. This historically sited garden displays massive plantings of daffodils, forsythia, daylilies, and flowering shrubs in the upper garden area. It is a spectacular showcase of gorgeous spring and early summer blooms. Committee members are assisted by the Town Tree Warden and the Conservation Officer for lawn and tree maintenance and are provided with deliveries of topsoil and mulch as needed. High school seniors also volunteer on ABRHS Community Service Day to rake, fertilize, and mulch the garden at the beginning of the season. New plant material continues to be added to the garden in keeping with its original design.

For Historical Information Click on the picture

Garden Therapy
Emerson Hospital

From September through June, the Acton Garden Club offers a weekly garden therapy program to adults hospitalized at Emerson with mental health conditions. Under the supervision of an occupational therapist, the Garden Club members assist patients in creating floral arrangements with flowers and supplies provided by the Club. All the patients seem to really enjoy making their arrangements, are delighted with their creations and are very appreciative of this activity.

Many patients take their arrangements back to their rooms to enjoy themselves. Others say they are going to give their arrangements to their mothers or another family member. It is very rewarding to be a part of the satisfaction and happiness the patients experience as they create their floral expressions.

Annual Student Scholarships

The Acton Garden Club awards a $1000 scholarship annually. The winner, an Acton resident from either Acton-Boxborough Regional High School or Minuteman Regional High School of Applied Arts and Sciences, must intend to pursue a career in environmental sciences, i.e. botany, conservation, forestry, horticulture, or related disciplines.

The 2011 recipient is Varshini Prakash. Varshini has shown her dedication to helping the environment by participating in the Recycling Program at the High School and volunteering at the West Acton Farmer’s Market. She spent last summer teaching local children about Water Conservation. Varshini will be pursuing a degree in Environmental Sciences/Biology at UMass Amherst.

Acton Garden Club Teacher's Grant

The Acton Garden Club has established, initially with memorial gifts from friends and family, a grant program in memory of two longtime members, Janet Bubier and Elinor Miller. This grant opportunity, in the amount of up to $500, is open to educators in the Acton Public and Acton-Boxborough Regional Schools. It provides funds for environmentally related programs or projects to develop new curricula or to enrich existing ones. The grant is provided annually, subject to the approval of the Finance Committee and the Board of the Acton Garden Club. The Board determines the procedure for application and award.

There were no grant proposals received in 2011. It is likely that the numerous school cancellation days during January affected the ability of the teachers to meet the grant deadline of February 1st.

Junior Gardeners

The Junior Gardeners’ program is open to the children and grandchildren of Acton Garden Club members. This group has been dedicated to promoting educational projects that strive to teach children a love of gardening, an appreciation of nature’s beauty, and the value and protection of our natural resources. The group environment provides a forum in which to teach children responsibility toward civic beautification and methods of cultivation and utilization of plants to enhance our quality of life.

Due to diminishing enrollments as children outgrow the program, the Junior Gardeners program is currently inactive, but we hope to renew this program in the near future

Annual Plant Sale

Our Annual Plant Sale and Raffle is held in May. Preparations begin early in the year. This major fund-raiser for the Acton Garden Club, with total Club support, has 16 committees that coordinate all the different aspects of the sale, not to mention all the individuals who dig and pot up the plants needed for our inventory of over 2100 perennials. The weeks before the sale are the most intensive with the digging, potting, sorting, and pricing of the plants. Signs and posters are placed around town. This all culminates in a festive display of perennials, colorful annuals and tent canopies on the Acton Common. The proceeds go to maintain several public gardens in Acton, provide for community service projects, scholarships and grants, and fund civic beautification for the town.

Raffles

The Club holds 2 raffles a year. The first is done in December where our members donate items made to be raffled. (See Library Holiday Mini-Fair article above.)

The second raffle coincides with the annual plant sale. Prizes are generously donated by local merchants and Club members, and proceeds benefit scholarships, civic beautification and community education.

Gardening with Young People

The Gardening with Young People program is designed to meet with different groups of young people from the Acton-Boxborough community who are invited to participate in a hands-on education project involving one of the following concentrations: horticulture, floral design, conservation, civic beautification and garden therapy.

The Gardening with Young People program provides assistance and funding, if necessary. In the past, the committee has worked with Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Brownies, schools (including Best Buddies Program) and the Acton Memorial Library children’s department.
Conservation Projects:
Earth Day

The community-wide Earth Day celebration was not held this year. Our interest continues, and we hope to participate in future years. In order to provide up-to-date information on environmental issues to Club members, ‘Conservation Tips’ are given at the monthly Club meetings.

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