Spadework By Horticulture Club––

Impatiens A Virtue At Newtown Meeting House

By Dottie Evans

One week in the ground and already 300 bright coral “Elfin Melon” impatiens plants in front of the Newtown Meeting House are making a difference in the local streetscape at the top of Church Hill Road and Route 25 (Main Street) behind the flagpole.

The annual beautification of the Newtown Meeting House front entrance was accomplished May 26 by the Horticulture Club of Newtown, as several members spent a sunny morning on their hands and knees laying in the impatiens seedlings provided by the Burr Farm and Garden Center.

The landscaping project is a yearly labor of love by this longtime group of Newtown gardeners, especially during the past two years since the stone patio and permanent evergreens have been added to the meeting house entrance.

“It’s really beginning to look finished, and I can’t tell you how grateful we are for their help,” said Sherry Paisley, Newtown Meeting House manager.

The impatiens plants were placed in front of the yews on both sides of the doors and in large planter tubs under the sycamore trees near the street. This year, for the first time, the impatiens were tucked in between the foliage of daffodils that had already finished blooming.

“The daffodils had to be replanted,” Mrs Paisley said, “when we pulled out the old oil tank before laying down the walkway.”

Little by little it is all coming together, she added, “except that now, with everything looking so spruced up, I can see that the next project is going to be repaint the exterior.”

Maintenance never ends, but it is wonderful to have a group like the horticulture club that can be counted upon -–– just like hardy perennials –– to come through each year to plant flowers.

When the planting job was completed, horticulture club president Sigrid Hewitt took a moment to stand back and admire the results.

“We’re very grateful to Gary Ober, manager of Burr Farm and Garden Center. The plants are always beautiful. And we’re thankful for our faithful members who can come out and help. Some members work during the day, so it’s hard for them to participate. We always have a good time with this.”