Garden Club a Force of Nature

By DAN SULLIVAN

RICHFIELD SPRINGS – Many communities across New York State have garden clubs. The thought of them might conjure an image of some local “dames de certain age” tending selected areas, resplendent in gloves and sun hats, for several weeks during the late spring and summer, doing their part to beautify their town. They then recede into the background until next year.

That vision bears little resemblance to reality for the Garden Club of Richfield Springs.

The GCRS is a 12-month operation with 18 full-time members and several “auxiliary” (read: male) members that meet and work throughout the calendar year. Any given month will have the club meeting several times, both as a full club and in one or more of its 10 standing committees. During winter, the members are busy designing their yearbook, which details ongoing projects as well as new initiatives, like this year’s “Curb Appeal” project. It involved adding three more flower beds along Main Street/Route 20. Combined with the seven ongoing projects the GCRS maintains, members of the club could be seen at all daylight hours tending the 10 areas during the months of the growing season. Fall means a continuation of the work, with cleanup as well as decoration of those areas.

The garden club also functions as a catalyst for collaboration among other civic organizations and businesses in the community. The Chamber of Commerce contributes mightily, planting and maintaining dozens of flower boxes along Main Street and Route 28 west of the village. The Richfield Springs Central School also collaborates with the GCRS. The Junior Garden Project plants seeds, which become the plantings around the flagpole at the Richfield Springs Central School. The village Department of Public Works partners with the garden club as it hangs wreaths decorated by GCRS members on all the streetlights in the village. Combined with the contributions from James Jordan Associates, the number of tended green spaces in Richfield Springs has grown into the mid-teens.

Invigorated by their programs’ successes, the GCRS is now venturing into the grant world to build capacity for more beautification. The first target area is the eastern gateway to the Village of Richfield Springs along Route 20, where a section of the municipal water supply is situated. Funds will be used to clear vegetation from an end of the pond to allow native species to thrive.

As towns across upstate New York seek to revitalize, organizations like the Garden Club of Richfield Springs play a critical role in the beautification of our communities. When you encounter a garden club member at their work, be sure to say thanks for your service!