Newtown's garden clubs have deep roots in the town's soil. The seeds they plant grow more than just flowers, shrubs, and vegetables; they produce a feeling of community for so many residents.

In this second installment of a miniseries, each local gardening club will shine light on the many ways they dedicate their time, energy, and green thumbs to providing Newtown's public spaces with extra blooms of beauty.

Horticulture Club Of Newtown

For 12 years, Joan Cominski has been an active member of The Horticulture Club of Newtown. She is currently serving her sixth year as treasurer and fourth year as president.

She continues to be a longtime member for many of the same reasons that had inspired her join the club in the first place.

"I've always enjoyed gardening, and I had a friend who lived in town who invited me to a meeting," Ms Cominski said. "I found everybody in the club very welcoming, friendly, and we had a lot of common interests, so I decided to join."

The Horticulture Club of Newtown has been a place for those who have a love of gardening and who enjoy the community camaraderie since it was organized in 1954.

The group was also founded on the concept of inclusivity.

Ms Cominski explained, "[The Horticulture Club of Newtown] was started by a group of women who decided they wanted to have men be part of the membership, so they were one of the first clubs that had meetings in the evenings, so men could join also."

That trailblazing idea is still in place 63 years later and offers all those interested in gardening the opportunity of becoming a member.

According to the club's website, the group's objectives are "to promote interest in horticulture; to encourage and assist projects involving horticulture; to further the conservation of natural resources, especially soil and water; and to increase the knowledge of the artistic use of plant material, both indoors and out."

These ideas are implemented and strengthened by members' work throughout town.

The Horticulture Club of Newtown is in charge of three rows in the town's Victory Garden at Fairfield Hills. All the upkeep is done by members, who volunteer their time to pitch in on certain days when their schedules allow.

Ms Cominski calls the special club gatherings there the "weed and feed," as members do a great deal of weeding and other maintenance for the rows, then celebrate their hard work with a potluck dinner at a nearby picnic bench.

"All the food grown in the Victory Garden goes to people who need it," Ms Cominski explained. "We bring it over to the food pantry or Social Services, and they distribute it."

Last year, the club planted mostly above ground vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash, but found a gopher was enjoying the fruits of their labor.

This year, they decided to try root vegetables instead. Now the garden is full of carrots, onions, potatoes, and beets, as well as some new sprouts of pole beans and heirloom tomatoes from last year's seeds.

"Between the intermittent rain and warm days, it's been great... [the rows] are doing really, really well."

The weather has also been helpful to the Horticulture Club of Newtown's other town project: the flowers in the front of The Meeting House on Main Street.

"For years we had done these beautiful salmon impatiens, but they got infected with a fungal disease about five years ago," Ms Cominski said. "Since then we have been doing wax begonias."

Ms Cominski says that despite the new plants needing more time to grow, they give a "nice display" and fill in well.

When members are not busy getting their hands dirty working on beautifying Newtown, they are growing their gardening passion by learning more about horticultural topics.

The club organizes field trips to local farms and properties for private tours, where they learn about the techniques used at each garden. In recent years, the Horticulture Club of Newtown has visited sites like Holbrook Farm in Bethel and Hollister House in Washington (Conn.), which is part of the Garden Conservancy.

They also invite guest speakers to teach the club members about topics they find interesting and answer members' questions. They have had guest speakers educate the club about bees, maple syrup, dirt, herbs, etc.

"We have a very curious group," Ms Cominski said. "We try to find speakers for a subject we haven't been exposed to before or in a long time to be re- or newly-educated."

The Horticulture Club of Newtown also likes to give back to the community and hosts a yearly tag sale where the proceeds go toward raising money for Newtown Scholarship Association. The scholarship is in place for a graduating student from Newtown who is interested in pursuing environmental studies, horticulture, agriculture, ecology, conservation, or forestry.

How To Become A Member

The Horticulture Club of Newtown brings together garden enthusiasts on the second Thursday of every month, March through December, at 7 pm. The club frequently gathers at Newtown Meeting House, 31 Main Street, unless plans are arranged beforehand to meet at Newtown's Victory Garden in Fairfield Hills.

There are also frequent Saturday excursions planned for club members to enjoy, which are posted on the official club website.

Men and women, as well as residents from other towns, are welcome to join the Horticulture Club of Newtown. The group has members who live as far as Watertown who choose to make the trip to attend events and meetings. The fee for a year's membership is $25.

With about 33 active members - who range from 19 to nearly 90 years old, and those who are working or retired - there is a broad spectrum of gardeners who get to enjoy and grow their hobby with the Horticulture Club of Newtown.

Those looking to become a club member or a guest speaker can contact club president Joan Cominski at 203-364-1139. For more information about the Horticulture Club of Newtown, visit newtownhorticultureclub.blogspot.com.