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Route 17 Medians |
The severe winter storms of 2015 did its damage to
our 3 Median Gardens but even bigger damage was caused by
rodents who seem to prefer roses for their winter meal along
with forsythia, euonymus and spring bulbs. Passing by the
gardens you may have noticed our roses are in a rebuilding
phase. We’ve had to replant roses which are taking their
time catching up with the established plants. We also added
some new perennials: agastache and hot pink asters.
- Chairperson: Pat Lynch |
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We are most grateful to:
• Bonnie Maguire who headed the planting effort and worked
to secure approvals from 7 State and local agencies. She
also oversaw the Medians through their first crucial year.
• Betty Payton, Deborah Kent and Bob Shipman for designing
the gardens.
• Howard Horton, Bob Shipman and E.A. Quinn Landscape
Contracting for donating equipment and labor to rototill,
spread compost and mulch.
• The Glastonbury Exchange Club for their very generous
$2,000 donation.
• Mark Sellew’s Prides Corner Farms for the hundreds of
discounted plants.
• Stephen Shipman and Patrick Lynch for keeping the medians
mowed.
• The many GPIP volunteers who participate in the spring and
fall clean up, mulching and on-going weeding and
deadheading. |
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A quick shower doesn’t stop our
extraordinary volunteers. A very special Thank You
to the many volunteers who help GPIP throughout the
year! |
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In 2004, Glastonbury Partners in Planting identified
the intersection of Route 17 and Main Street as one of the
first sites to plant and improve. GPIP's goal was to
transform the grass and weed-covered medians into beautiful,
welcoming garden spaces.
This has been GPIP’s most ambitious project to date. Over a
3 month period volunteers planted 3 separate beds on the
Median’s two islands. The gardens were filled with more than
500 shrubs, roses and perennials along with 3,000 bulbs.
These plants were chosen because most are drought resistant,
native, and can withstand the road salt from winter plowing.
The Median gardens display beautiful bursts of color
beginning in early spring. The bulb plantings welcome
passer-bys to waves of spectacular blues and yellows. The
early blooming sky blue scilla and the star-shaped blues of
the chionodoxa accented the giant yellow trumpets of the
daffodils. The blooming ‘Gold Tide’ Forsythia also adds to
the color.
But it is late spring and all summer is when most of the
plants in the Medians are in full bloom. In late May, the
masses of spiky, soft blue blossoms on the gray-green
foliage of Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’ (Catmint) bloom for more
than a month. In June, ‘Knockout’ Roses on the South median
and ‘Home Run’ Roses on the North median begin their
summer-long show of brilliant reds and pinks. Also,
Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’ and the Hemerocallis ‘Happy Returns’
(daylily) provide the beautiful shades of yellow. By July,
the purple Echinacea tennessiensis ‘Rock Top’ (cornflower)
blossom, the Perovskia ‘Russian Sage’ starts turning purple
and the golden Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ (Black-eyed Susan)
begins blooming with most of the tall, showy grasses.
In
late August.Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ turns pink and the day lilies
and catmint show their colors again. |
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