New London Beautification Committee

Beautification Committee Awards 2011

2012-01-08T18:53:00.001-05:00

Every year the New London BeautificationCommittee likes to recognize local businesses that go that extra mile to make New London the beautifulcity that it is. Here are the 2011 NewLondon Beautification Award winners.

N.L.B.C. Members: Bob Stuller, Michael Wright, Paul Foley, Diane Smith, Renee Beaulieu, Tita Williams, Sue Davis, Deirdre Cavanagh


Mike Passero - City Council, Diane Smith - N.LB.C, Tita Williams - N.L.B.C., Anthony Nolan - City Council

HARBOUR CLUB: Charles Duffy

We’d like to recognize Harbour Club for the newlandscaping in front of their building along Pequot Avenue. Funded by residents and the Club itself,landscaping was installed that was well thought out. It greatly improved the appearance of thestructure.

HUNTINGTON TOWERS: Marisole Rodriguez

We’d like to recognize Huntington Towers for thebeautiful display of begonias in front of their building. The begonias brought a mass of beautiful brightpink blooms to their section of Huntington Street throughout the spring andsummer months.

NEW LONDON PARKSCONSERVANCY: Michael Hudson

We would like to thank the New London Parks Conservancyfor their efforts at Williams Park located at the center of Williams, Broad,Channing, and Granite Streets. For years,the Conservancy has been improving this park and providing wonderful activitiesfor the community there. It’s been atremendous amount of work, and Beautification says, “Conservancy, job welldone.”

THOMAS L. NEILAN& SONS FUNERAL HOMES, INC: ChrisNeilan

Beautification would like to commend the Neilan FuneralHome for its recent landscaping makeover. They created a very attractive entrance to their building that greatly enhancestheir neighborhood along Ocean Avenue.

ROTARY CLUB OF NEW LONDON: Vivian Stanley,Rick Gipstein

Although Beautification usually makes awards that involveplants, this year we decided to make an exception. The “Welcome to New London” signal flag signsadd the perfect salutation as you drive into New London from I-95. Although they are not plants, we had torecognize their installation. Withfunding provided by the Rotary Club, Rick Gipstein’s design provides theperfect nautical touch to this New London welcome sign. Vivian Stanley, President of Rotary, and RickGipstein are accepting the award.

THE DAY: Gary Farrugia

Although we always enjoy this peaceful garden, Beautification thought it looked especially nice this pastsummer. Thank you to the Day forproviding this serene garden respite for the community to enjoy.

TIO RODRIGO’S: Rodney Cornish

Beautification would like to recognize Rod Cornish forhis attention to detail at his newest restaurant, Tio Rodrigo’s on Bank Street. He made sure the wall of the courtyard wassurrounded by beautiful shrubs and decorated with brightly colored planters allsummer. Muy bien, Rodrigo!

MONTAUK AVENUEBAPTIST CHURCH: Stephen Heleman

BC would like to recognize Montauk Avenue Baptist Churchfor the new flower beds in front of their building. These new beds provided attractive color to Montauk Avenue throughoutthe season.

READCOMANAGEMENT: Kristin Murdica

The planters in front windows of Citizen’s Bank along Eugene O’Neill Driveoffer such a classic greeting as one enters downtown. Beautification thanks Citizens Bank andReadco Management for enhancing the appearance of downtown New London.

THANK YOU: We also like to thank the people who helpthe Beautification Committee do what it does. Here are the folks that deserve an award for their help in 2011.

PerennialHarmony: Petie Reed, Rich Oliver

Petie and Rich love New London and help Beautificationthroughout the year. Whether it beadvice on what plants to use or really good prices that save the city money,they are always there when we need them.

Tree Lawn &Garden Joshua Services: JoshuaRakosky

What happens to a garden that is not properlymulched? It needs to be wateredconstantly and has way more weeds than anyone would like. We are fortunate that Joshua Tree & LawnServices is willing to share wood chips with the Beautification Committee. His chips help our sites retain moisture andprevent weeds from taking over.

New London PublicWorks: Dave Denoia, George Brofsoski

We work in tandem all season with the Parks Division ofthe Public Works department and would like to thank them publicly for all theydo. From mowing many of our sites tobuilding the stone wall that surrounds our new garden at the entrance of GreenHarbor Beach, we are forever in their debt.

City CenterDistrict: Jason Clark, Katie Jordan

Beautification would be lost without the help of thesetwo Center City District workers. Theymake sure that Beautification plants and planters throughout the downtown area arewatered on a regular basis. I personallyhave heard visitors to our city comment on how great it is that we have such adedicated crew to water the beautiful plants all summer. For all the plant maintenance they dodowntown, a big thank you goes to Jason and Katie from all of us.

Ocean Beach Park: Evan Geisling

All the gardens at Ocean Beach Park are near and dear tothe Beautification Committee. We havebeen renewing several gardens over the past couple of years, and Dave Sugrue is soaccommodating to let us “do our thing” at the beach. We LOVE our time spent working at the bestbeach in CT!

REMEMBER: Click on any photo in this post and see all the photos in full size. If you wish, you can also download to your computer ( right click, save) any photos you would like a copy of.

An Old Video for a New Year

2012-01-06T10:43:00.002-05:00

This video was made about four years ago. It was one of the first videos that I made for the Beautification Committee. Since then, You Tube and my ability to make videos has improved a great deal, but it is this video that has remained the most popular of all our many videos posted on our You Tube page. The video was picked up by an online magazine , and has over 40,000 views, and pages of comments. It has brought a lot of traffic to our sites from around the world, and added many new subscribers to our video pages.
I am posting it again, for those of you that might have missed it the first time around, it has not been seen on this site for about four years.
I hope you enjoy this look back at our old movies.

A Gardener's Year, Four Seasons with the Beautification Committee

2012-01-05T19:47:00.001-05:00

A video of Beautification Committee member's favorite photos of their home and public gardens.
All the photos were taken in New London.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

2011-11-30T19:45:00.001-05:00

The members of the Beautification Committee have been busy the last few days, cutting and preparing the plant material, to fill the planters at City Hall. It is the last big project of the year, and the last time the members will get together before the holidays.
Go to our photo album to see more of our preparations, and more photos of the finished containers.

The Start of the Fall Season

2011-09-26T10:18:00.002-04:00

                                        The Beautification Committee's large order of mums has arrived,
                                         for the start of the Fall Season.

Committee members sort colors and fill the orders
for all of our 23 sites.

                                          Farmer Pete from Alice Acres grew all these beautiful plants,
                                          at his farm in Ledyard, Ct.
                                          Stop by and visit, he still has all the colors to choose from.

The Bump Out in Bloom

2011-06-09T21:18:00.038-04:00

Beautification Committee member, Diane Smith, took these great photos of the Bently Bump Out, this past week.
Diane planned and planted much of this garden. She did replace the beach roses with "Knock Out Roses" for a season of continuous bloom This garden requires little care and little watering.
See the post below for the past history of the Bump Out. It is fun to see how a garden was started and how much it has filled in in the past three years.

WHAT IS A BUMP OUT?

2011-06-08T19:10:00.000-04:00

In every city and town, you can drive around and find strange little forgotten spaces that have become eye-sores. We hardly notice them as we pass by, sometimes they are so overgrown that we have forgotten what they are or why they were made. Once you start to notice these spaces, they are hard to ignore.

Thus we arrive at what the Beautification Committee calls The Bently Bump Out [for lack of knowing what else to call such a weird little construction]. We were all in agreement that it was a mess, and this week we have finished redoing the whole thing. See above video.
A special thanks to Jim and Lisa Pettey for all your work on this project, truly heroic.

Is there a space that you have noticed, around the city, that you think needs attention? Perhaps you are just wondering how it got to be there. Take a few photos and email them to us [upper left hand column], or leave a message below in comments. Maybe we can help.

Seven Million Bulbs - A Video

2011-05-11T14:41:00.000-04:00

Tita Williams, co- president and member of the Beautification Committee made this video after returning from Holland just last week. It is a wonderful treat to see a display of bulbs like this, and to see Tita's skill as a photographer. This video is a great way to see how different bulbs can be planted together, and how color layouts can work. Thanks Tita.

Color in the garden - Painting tips

2011-04-11T22:24:00.000-04:00

Paint some blue skies, paint some faded clay pots, paint a worn out fence, nothing gives you more value for the money then a can of paint.

St. Patrick's Day Parade, 2011

2011-03-18T08:49:00.000-04:00

The Beautification Committee's first time entry in the New London St. Patrick's Day Parade. It was a wonderful parade and a wonderful time was had by all. Thanks to committee members Daneen Roth, Mike Wright, Tita Williams, and Bob Stuller for their work on this project. It is very hard to fill a truck with a floral display in the middle of March.

A video from D.U.G.

2011-01-26T11:29:00.003-05:00

I am the member of the New London Beautification Committee who runs this blog, but I also have my own garden blog called Diary of an Urban Gardener, where I post videos about my own gardens and garden projects.
At our most recent Beautification Committee meeting, the members had a long discussion on how to reach out to the public and get people involved in gardening both public and private. Members came up with some great ideas, which we plan to implement in the next year.
One idea that was easy to do right away, was to post more how- to projects on our committee blog.
The above video is the first video I made for D.U.G. and talks about planning your future garden, mostly on your computer. This is a great time of the year to dream about a new garden, or a new project for an existing garden, and when spring arrives, you will be ready to hit the ground running, so to speak.
In this video I do mention using a photo shop program, which are expensive to buy, but did you know that you can download a free program that does much of the same work. It is called Gimp, click here to go to the download page
I use this program all the time and find it is more intuitive and straight forward then programs that cost a great deal of money. So, get going, you have no excuses, you don't even have to go out in the snow. The Internet will provide you with the answers to any garden question you have, or email us, or leave a comment and we will answer your questions.

Three Years at Columbus Circle

2010-10-12T11:54:00.001-04:00

There has been many changes made to this major traffic intersection in New London.
This video shows a time line for the past three years of improvements.

Fall Color at New London Senior Center

2010-10-08T21:47:00.004-04:00

Beautification Committee member, Diane Smith took some photos of her garden at the New London Senior Center, this week.
This garden was completely replanted last season when a maple tree that was at the center of the garden died and had to be removed.
The Committee bought a new hawthorn tree, that was planted last fall. The new tree was planted in the back of the garden, so the roots would have plenty of room to grow.The garden has filled in nicely in just one growing season.
Scroll down to the next post and watch a video about the work that was done last fall.

A Senior Center video

2010-10-07T13:29:00.000-04:00

This is a quick video showing the improvements made at the Senior Center in the past year, by the Beautification Committee and by the New London Public Works Department. A nice job by all involved

Fall at the Old Town Mill

2010-10-06T10:51:00.000-04:00

New Londoners sometimes forget about this wonderful place. While the mill itself is not always open, the grounds are. Children love this place and often ask to return. If you are looking for something to do with the family on the weekend, pack some juice boxes and head over to this historical site. It is free. Your children will thank you and you will enjoy the peace and beauty of the place.

Time to go to the beach

2010-06-13T10:29:00.001-04:00

Ocean Beach Park is one great reason to live in New London, so get your sunscreen out, grab a towel, and head for the beach, that many of us grew up on. Feel like a child again, meet your friends, eat ice cream and be happy!!!

A New Season Begins

2010-05-29T21:23:00.002-04:00


The plants arrive!!

The plants are sorted and orders are filled.

The Beautification Committee's favorite day of the year.

It is always a happy day when a large truck pulls up and unloads a driveway full of plants. It is a gardener's dream come true. These photos were taken about two weeks ago. Every one of these plants have now, been planted and watered in, on their proper sites.
Check our site list in the left hand column and you can take a tour of the colorful gardens and container plantings around New London, or check the list to see which site might be near your home.The Beautification members have been working overtime to get their sites planted for the start of the summer season. Enjoy!!!

Two Years at City Hall, a video

2010-02-03T21:48:00.000-05:00

A short video showing the installation of the new sidewalks and garden, in the back of City Hall, last summer.

2009 Beautification Committee Awards at City Hall

2010-01-07T18:09:00.027-05:00

The Beautification Committee honored their 2009 awards recipients at the January 5, 2010 meeting of the City Council.
Many thanks to Tita Williams, Diane Smith, and Bob Stuller for all their hard work putting this event together.

Muddy Waters - Susan & Barry Neistat accepting – Awarded for their tasteful little garden in front of Muddy Waters.

New London Main Street – Kate Wick accepting - for the 2 new “Gateways”, one welcoming visitors into New London at Governor Winthrop Blvd. and Eugene O’Neill Drive and the other at Water Street and Governor Winthrop Blvd. that encourages ferry passengers to visit New London

Perennial Harmony - Petie Reed and Richard Oliver accepting - for their donation and installation of all the new plantings at the Trolley Visitor Information Station.

Tom Cornick – for the landscaping at the entrance of Bean & Leaf.

Richard Gipstein – for his tireless work organizing the new look at the Trolley Visitor Information Station.

Frost & Kent Landscape Architecture - Chad Frost & Brian Kent accepting– for their design and pro bono work at the Trolley Visitor Information Station.

Second Congregational Church – Caroline Driscoll accepting- for the soothing garden on church grounds.

Lawrence & Memorial Hospital – the grounds department for their continued effort to create a peaceful setting on the hospital grounds - Michael Micelli accepting

The following also received awards:

O’Neill’s Brass Rail – Awarded for the fanciful planters both in front of and on the deck of O’Neill’s.

Scott Gello – for his voluntary work refreshing the triangle at Manwarring and Hempstead Street and the new landscaping around the cannon at Williams and Manwarring Streets.

John Collins of Susman & Shapiro – for his effort to beautify the entrance into downtown at Union Plaza along the left side of Eugene O’Neill Drive.

Bryan Desautell – Thank you Bryan for your continued support of the Beautification Committee. Without your watering, we simply would not be able to plant in downtown.

Dave Segrue – Thank you Dave for allowing BC to add color to the gardens and planters at Ocean Beach Park.
Bob Myers, Dave Denoia & the Parks Crew at Public Works – Dave Denoia accepting the award. Thanks for helping us problem solve and maintain our many gardens around town. They are always willing to help get the job done for New London.

W.J. Tree Service – William Jezierski accepting the award. Thanks for the donation of wood chips we use as mulch at all our sites.

Also receiving a Thank You Certificate was Joshua Tree Lawn & Garden Services- Joshua Rakosky accepting the award. Thanks for the donation of wood chips we use as mulch at all our sites.

A Visit to Enders Island

2009-11-07T09:58:00.000-05:00

A last look at our past summer. Beautification Committee member Sue Davis visited Enders Island in Mystic, in the height of the summer season, and took all the beautiful photos for this video. Thanks Sue for sharing this wonderful place with us.

Betty's Garden - video

2009-08-19T12:12:00.001-04:00

On August 8th, friends and family of Betty Foye gathered at Ocean Beach Park for a day of rememberance.

Thanks to Daneen Roth and Marie Mc Sparren for the photos.
If you wish to view this video on a larger screen or download this video you can go to
our YouTube Channel -New London Beautification Committee, Channel57 click to go

Make some new memories at Ocean Beach Park - A new video

2009-06-17T11:54:00.005-04:00

The first day of summer is almost here! Let us hope the rain clears out and we can enjoy some of the fine things the beach has to offer.
The Beautification Committee has been working hard to have our largest garden site, the Hillside Garden, planted and ready to go. We have added a new stone bench this year.
Hope to see you all at the beach!!

Speaking of the good old days, A New London blog,
Don't Shoot the Messenger, click to go.
has a cool video of a 1908 rescue off the pier in New London, well worth seeing.

Happy Spring!!!!

2009-04-11T13:47:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Bob, Tita, Marie, Diane, Sue, and Daneen for the photos included in the video

As committee members have been busy cleaning up their sites and preparing their plant orders, we thought we would take a moment to officially welcome back the spring season with a short video.
You can view all the committee videos on our YouTube Channel

New London Public Library - From the New Book Shelf

2009-04-02T22:19:00.000-04:00

click on photos to enlarge and read the covers

Even if you are not a gardener these projects can work in your home. A visit to your local plant shop can supply you with everything you need to make the projects your own. Whether you're looking to do something as simple as creating a tabletop centerpiece or as sophisticated as using the garden's bounty to call attention to your artwork, P. Allen Smith's plethora of ideas and expert know-how will inspire you to bring the outdoors indoors any time of the year.

Garden designer P. Allen Smith is best know for the beauty he creates outdoors. From his monthly segment on the "Today Show" to his own nationally syndicated television programs, people look to him for ways to design, update, or totally reinvent their outdoor garden space.

This book can be found on the New Book Shelf at the New London Public Library.

Visit P. Allen Smith's Garden Home Web Site

This is a wonderful site filled with great ideas. Plan to spend a little time there, as a matter of fact, you won't want to leave.

After that visit you can go on to view P. Allen Smith's You Tube channel [ home page]

This is a real treat for any gardener, there are over 170 short videos on subjects ranging from plants for your garden, pruning fruit trees, bumble bees, to container planting.

You might want to bookmark both these sites as you will want to return for many visits.

Making a garden at Ocean Beach Park

2009-02-14T19:58:00.002-05:00

The Hillside Garden at Ocean Beach Park is now fully planted. This large section use to be a spotted, weedy lawn.
The committee started working this area in the summer of 2006, by planting grasses and “fireworks” goldenrod at the top of the hill to hide the legs of the large overhanging deck. We also planted hydrangeas and other shrubs donated by the Perennial Harmony Nursery, but we still had a very large area of lawn left. Now, this is the Committee’s problem with all the gardens we undertake, WE CANNOT USE POWER TOOLS. Because of union rules and insurance regulations, volunteers cannot use any power tools when working on city property. Imagine, no lawn mowers, weed trimmers, hedge trimmers, and most important no rotor-tillers. Therefore, it takes us a little longer to make a garden. Everything must be dug or cut or pulled by hand. This has made the Committee members very resourceful and it certainly is a very environmentally friendly way to garden. In the fall of 2006 we covered the rest of the hillside with a layer of newspaper and as much wood chip mulch as we could layer on, about three inches over- all.
This is a great way to start a garden in a lawn area [even if you can use power tools]. Lay out your plan for a new garden in the fall, put down a thick layer of newspaper and cover with mulch. In the spring push back the mulch, and start planting. It is a great idea, and you will have done all the heavy work in the fall by laying down the mulch. When you are done planting your new garden, just rake the mulch back into place. You can do the same thing in the spring for fall planting, perhaps for an evergreen garden. It takes a few months for the newspaper and mulch to smother the grass and weeds. By the time you are ready to plant, you can dig right through the newspaper. One note of caution, use only the newsprint portions of the paper, no colored or glossy ad supplements because of the colored inks used to print them.
As you can see in the above video, the annuals and perennials we planted in the spring thrived all season and the garden itself looked very mature.

Making a Dry Creek Bed Garden

2009-02-14T10:57:00.002-05:00

BELOW ARE SOME HELPFUL INSTRUCTIONS IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT INSTALLING A FEATURE LIKE THIS.
First plan the course that the dry creek bed will take down the slope. Mark the 2 edges of that course with landscaper's paint. A meandering course looks more natural than a straight course. How high up the slope should you start? In some cases, there's little choice. For instance, if a landscape drainage pipe that's already in place is dumping all that excess water onto your property, your decision is clear-cut: begin the dry creek bed right under that pipe....

But in cases where you have more leeway (especially for dry creek beds that are purely decorative), attempt to disguise the "headwaters" of the dry creek bed by making it bend out from behind a large boulder or some plant material. When the source of a stream is mysterious, viewers have to use their imagination. And what we construct with our hands is rarely as pleasing as what we construct with our minds!

We've talked about how high up the slope to start. But what about where to finish down below? Some homeowners redirect excess water toward the street. But it's best to contemplate a worst-case scenario when dealing with public property, because that means dealing with the government -- which can be a real stickler when it comes to issues like redirecting excess water. So check with your local public works department first. If their response is positive, get something in writing that says so....
What if you're not allowed to redirect the water to the street? Unless you already have a landscape drainage system in place (allowing you to route the runoff into that system), you have 2 main options. You could channel the water to a location on your land (but make sure it's your land, not a neighbor's!) where it's less troublesome and where, if the soil is sandy enough, it can percolate harmlessly down into the ground. A second option is to build a pond and funnel the water into it

So much for the course of a dry creek bed. What about its depth and width? These dimensions don't have to conform to any rule exactly. Look at dry creek beds in nature: they're obviously not all of the same depth and width. But there's a general rule you can follow: dry creek beds tend to be wider than they are deep, which is good news for you -- less digging! A 2:1 ratio is about right, meaning you could make the dry creek bed 3' wide x 1.5' deep, for example.
With the planning done, now it's time for the first real work in the project: the digging. It's easy to build dry creek beds for landscape drainage, provided that the soil you'll be excavating isn't strewn with roots and rocks. Those with difficult soil to excavate can take solace in the fact that excavating the dry creek bed will be the toughest part of the project!
Take the soil that you're excavating and mound it up along the sides of your dry creek bed, as you go. This will reduce the amount of digging that you have to do, since you'll be lowering the base and raising the sides in one motion. Tamp down this excavated soil with a tamping tool.
After the trench for the dry creek bed has been excavated, lay down landscape fabric along its whole length. You want the fabric to cover the mounds of earth on both sides, as well as the trench. Hold the fabric in place using fabric pins or garden staples. Now for the part of the project that will be visible to viewer's: the rock....

For projects intended to improve landscape drainage, all rocks need to be mortared into place to form a solid channel that will carry water away (for ornamental dry creek beds, this is optional -- and probably undesirable). Apply mortar only to short sections of the fabric at a time, since mortar dries quickly. Use at least 2" of mortar. Lay the rocks in the mortar, then repeat the process with the next short section. It's easier to work from the top of the slope, down.
You can use rock of various shapes and sizes, but many homeowners prefer to select more round rocks ("river rocks") than flat ones. Round rocks conjure up an image of the water that has been gushing over them, knocking them about and causing them to become round over time.
Place small river rocks in the center of the trench; the water will flow over these.
Place your larger rocks on the sides of the dry creek bed, where they'll help channel the water and where they'll have the most visual impact. Save any boulders for the biggest bends in your stream's course and to disguise the "headwaters" of the dry creek bed (as discussed above).
Tips:
After you build dry creek beds, you can dress them up a bit. Plants will soften the edges, for instance. If you're more ambitious, you can install a landscape bridge over the dry creek bed and plant tall ornamental grasses to serve as "bookends" at both entrances to the landscape bridge. Adorn the landscape bridge with hanging container gardens to create a knockout focal point for your yard
What You Need:
Landscaper's paint
Landscape fabric
Fabric pins or garden staples
River rocks and boulders
Mortar
Wheelbarrow for mixing the mortar
Tamping tool
Shovel

The New London Public Library and N.L.B.C.

2009-02-14T10:33:00.004-05:00

A great place to learn to garden is the public library. Everything you need to know is right there on the shelves, and it is all FREE, an important consideration in these financially troubled times.
The New London Public Library's garden collection contains some wonderful area specific books pertaining to gardening in small spaces, front yard gardening, selecting the right trees and shrubs for our garden zone, and gardening in urban conditions.
Each month we will feature a new garden book from the New London Public Library, with posts related to that subject.
We hope you will join us in this new series and spend your winter months curled up reading some wonderful and informative books. It is a time to dream and plan for that special outdoor space, your very own garden.

2008 Beautification Awards at City Hall

2008-12-18T19:18:00.045-05:00

Beautification Committee: These are some of the gardeners who are responsible for our 22 sites scattered throughout the city. Attending - Sue Davis, Marie McSparran, Paul Foley, Vonice Carr, Deirdre Cavanagh, Ceil Zee, Glenn Hamler, Diane Smith, Bob Stuller, Carolyn Driscoll, Tita Williams

Awards Committee: Many thanks to these members for their hard work, making awards night the great event that it has become. A special thanks to Bob Stuller for designing, printing and framing the awards. A great job, as always.

Gail McKissick: Through the much appreciated funding approved by the City Council last year, the Beautification Committee was able to manage 22 garden sites in New London. We could not have accomplished that without the able guidance of Gail McKissick, Secretary to the City Manager. We thank her profusely for her patience and her help with anything we throw her way.

It is our pleasure each year to recognize locations within New London that put forth that extra effort to add style and beauty to our city.

Barry Neistat & Susan Devlin - Muddy Waters Café:
We would like to thank Barry and Susan for their continued efforts to beautify downtown New London. This summer’s addition of the lovely water feature to their miniature garden added a soothing sound to the hum of the city.

Donald O’Neill - O’Neill’s Brass Rail:
When visiting New London by ferry or train, a splash of abundant color draws the eye to the plantings along the deck of O”Neill’s Brass Rail. Exotic plants decorate the front of the establishment as well, enhancing a stroll along Bank Street. We thank Donald and his volunteers for adding color to our city.

Patti Saeed - Saeed’s International Market:
As you make your way to the beach along Ocean Avenue, you are greeted by a garden filled with colorful flowers that adorn the entrance to Saeed’s International Market. We thank Saeed’s for bringing a little vibrant flavor to this neighborhood setting.

President Mary Ellen Jukoski, Ed. D - Mitchell College:
From the eye-catching display of grasses along Pequot Avenue to the variety of plantings surrounding the new dorm, Mitchell College sets a high standard for landscaping and maintenance. Their gardens are not common place, but instead quite stylish and unique due to their selection of plants. We salute Mitchell College and their grounds crew for their constant attention to detail and the care given to the landscape. Thank you, Mary Ellen, for giving New London a park-like setting on your campus.

John Lombardi on behalf of Father Joseph Castaldi - St. Joseph Church:
We thank Mr. Lombardi, Father Castaldi, and the members of St. Joseph Church for the newly established gardens surrounding the church. The soft subtle colors of the landscaping that continuously bloomed through several seasons offer a calming respite from the busy neighboring streets.

Every year there are special people who lend a hand to Beautification and its projects. We’d like to single out a few with Certificates of Appreciation.

Petie Reed & Richard Oliver - Perennial Harmony:
We thank Petie and Rich for their kindness, generosity, and continued commitment to Beautification. Over the years, their generous donations have enabled us to surround the deck of the Port & Starboard with a continuously flowing garden that is enjoyed by all. Their ideas of conservation and sound environmental practices encourage us to shrink our carbon footprint and become more responsible citizens. We are very lucky to have Perennial Harmony as a friend.

Dave Denoia, Director of Parks Division of Public Works, - Public Works (also Keith Chapman, Director of Public Works, Bob Myers, Assistant to the Director of Public Works, Corey Elmore & Sean Porter from Parks, Jim Petty, George Frankewicz, Matt Alloway, Don York, and Bill Barlow from Buildings):
Most New Londoners probably don’t know how lucky we are to have Dave Denoia serving the City. Not only is he is a very knowledgeable individual, he’s a real gentleman, and it’s been a pleasure working with him. We thank the crew from Public Works for their superior help in our latest project at City Hall. On one of the hottest days of the summer, this crew went well beyond the call of duty when they helped members of this committee install the new planters on the wall at City Hall. They hefted these extremely heavy concrete planters up onto the wall, glued them into place, helped get the soil to the site and into the planters, and were extremely accommodating to our every need. We totally enjoyed our collaboration with this lively crew.

Bryan Desautell - City Center District:
You have all seen Bryan driving around downtown in his little yellow water mobile as he maintains the Center City District’s plantings. But you may not have realized that he helps Beautification as well by watering some of our sites such as City Hall, the Post Office, and the Trolley Visitor Station. We thank you, Bryan. Without you we would have the unpleasant task of hauling water from home.

Penny Parsekian & Frank McLaughlin - New London Main Street:
We thank Frank and New London Main Street for their large donation of white petunias that were used in the planter along Eugene O’Neill Drive at the Police Station. Both Penny & Frank work hard for downtown New London, and their continued efforts to improve and promote the district are appreciated by all.

Dave Segrue - Ocean Beach Park:
Ocean Beach is probably the favorite site of the Beautification Committee. In addition to several individual sites, we have several large gardens that are the responsibility of the entire committee. We have a ball at the Beach digging, planting, weeding, trimming...the list goes on and on. We couldn’t do any of this fun stuff without the help of Dave Segrue and his staff. The generous donation from Boston Caterers helps buy many of the annual plants that paint the park with color, attracting both visitors and butterflies alike. The gardens at the Beach wouldn’t be possible without Dave’s crew’s help with the watering. Thank you, Dave, for all you do for Ocean Beach Park and for letting Beautification come “play in the dirt”.

Awards were also given to:

Ken Boyer - Boyer Realty Management:
We thank Ken for establishing and maintaining the garden of shrubs and ornamental grasses at the Boyer Building. It is always a pleasure to see the grasses blowing in the wind as you drive along Bayonet Street.

George Dowker – City Center District:
City Center District does an incredible job beautifying downtown New London. The lush, vibrant baskets that adorn the light posts, the holiday wreaths with their sparkling lights, and all the other vivid areas of color maintained by CCD welcome visitors and residents with grace and style. Your crews also help keep downtown both clean and graffiti free. We thank you for making downtown New London always look its very best.

Text by Tita Williams and Sue Davis, Photos by Walt Williams

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Our Summer Photo Album

2008-10-03T15:58:00.001-04:00

Take a look back at the past summer season, with committee members, and some of their favorite photos.
It is a chance to see the members home gardens as well as some nice shots of the waterfront.
All of our members are great gardeners but we have some great photographers as well.
Pause for one last look at a summer that seemed to pass all to quickly.........
Now get out there and start raking.

Spring Planting with the Beautification Committee

2008-07-12T08:10:00.003-04:00

As summer settles in, here is a look back at the Committee's very busy and exciting spring season.

A NEW LOOK AT CITY HALL

2008-07-05T12:24:00.017-04:00

Have you noticed new splashes of color when passing New London City Hall? The magnificent architecture of this fine building was recently enhanced by the New London Beautification Committee. The addition of new planters is part of an ongoing collaboration to improve the appearance of this noble structure. The two planters at the front doors were donated to the City by the New London Garden Club. The other nine planters as well as all the plants and soil were purchased by Beautification. The installation of these concrete planters would not have been possible without the assistance of the Public Works Department. Special thanks go to Dave DeNoia from Parks for his cooperation and advice. Thanks also go to Bob Myers, Assistant to the Director of Public Works, Corey Elmore and Sean Porter from Parks, and Jim Petty, George Frankewicz, Matt Alloway, Don York, and Bill Barlow from the Buildings for their assistance. Beautification also thanks Brian Desautell from Center City District for doing such a fine job keeping all the downtown plants watered during the summer. It’s collaborations such as this that will continue to improve the appearance of downtown New London.Tita WilliamsNew LondonChair, New London Beautification Committee

Spring Garden at the Senior Center

2008-05-09T17:50:00.009-04:00

Diane Smith has taken these spring photos of her garden site at the Senior Center.
You will notice that she had to go out in the rain to get them. It has been a wet spring. I guess if we want to see spring in bloom we will have to put on our rain coats, or miss it altogether.

On the plus side, the plants are enjoying all the spring rain, the iris are in bloom already,

and of course there are the azaleas, always a spring delight.
Try and get out and catch some spring color, even if you have to bring your umbrella.

In Memory of Betty Foye

2008-04-26T20:55:00.010-04:00

A sad week for the Beautification Committee, with the passing of one of our members.
Betty Foye, a passionate and experienced gardener, who's humor and wisdom will be greatly missed.
Here is an excerpt from The Day, New London, Ct. about her exceptional life.

New London - Elizabeth Fetzer Foye, beloved mother, grandmother, and wife, Navy veteran, committed volunteer, and loyal friend peacefully passed away on April 22, 2008. She was 85 years old and enjoyed a rich and independent life.

Born in 1922 in Morristown, N.J., she graduated from Morristown High School in 1939. She continued her education at the Mountainside Hospital School of Nursing in Montclair, N.J., and became a registered nurse in 1944. During her childhood, she loved riding horses, going to her grandmother's farm, and developing her stellar tennis game.

She was the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Davitt Fetzer and the sister of Charles K. Fetzer, all of whom preceded her in death.

With the coming of World War II, she was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy and assigned to St. Albans Hospital in Tarrytown, N.Y. There, she met William Foye, a naval aviator, caring for him after his serious injury, who became her husband of 47 years.

Betty and Bill joined the New London community and had eight children together. They vigilantly supported their children in all their activities at New London High School and in their college years and beyond. As parents, they taught their children the value of love and support of your community, loyalty to family, the value of education and hard work, and the Golden Rule. Her strong Roman Catholic faith provided guidance and support throughout the challenges of life.

Her career in nursing (U.S. Navy and Mitchell College) was the cornerstone of her extraordinary life dedicated to the service of others, especially those less fortunate than she. For over 60 years, she worked tirelessly for charitable organizations too numerous to list in full. Some of her more recent work was with the New London area food pantry; Child and Family Agency; Catholic Charities; Girl Scouts (lifetime member), Lawrence and Memorial Hospital volunteers (over 25 years), Save Ocean Beach (SOB), New London Beautification, and many groups for St. Joseph Church.

Fiercely independent and a woman of many interests, Betty passionately pursued her hobbies in her "spare time". One of her greatest loves was her gardens not only at her colorful, charming cottage but also in her work with the Friends of Harkness, Save Ocean Beach (SOB) and New London Beautification.

The short video, below, shows Betty's garden sites and projects at Ocean Beach Park. All the photos were taken in the past garden year by members of the Beautification Committee.

LADY BIRD'S CALL FOR BEAUTIFICATION STILL VITAL

2007-07-25T09:23:00.000-04:00

HERE IS A TIMELY ARTICLE FROM THE DAY PAPER.

Jackie Kennedy made herself a beautiful woman, but Lady Bird Johnson did her one better. She made a beautiful America — or at least tried.

The 1965 Highway Beautification Act, which her husband, Lyndon Johnson, pushed through Congress at her insistence, dramatically limited billboards alongside federal highways. The billboard industry since has bored enormous loopholes into the restrictions — witness the monsters now sitting atop tall monopoles and visible half a mile away.

The uglification continues, except where the people have put their foot down. Four states — Vermont, Hawaii, Alaska and Maine — ban billboards altogether. Although North Carolina permits billboards, Craven County has just passed laws that strictly regulate their placement and bans animated signs altogether. So states and municipalities do have the power to slow the onslaught, though the outdoor advertising business will fight them at every intersection.

New Hampshire and Vermont are both beautiful states, but when you cross from the former into the Green Mountain State, things feel different. For one, you notice the green mountains. For another, you sense something missing but not missed — the giant billboards that clutter what should be equally fine views in New Hampshire.

And Vermont has not let its tourism industry down. Posted along its roads are carefully designed brown signs that point visitors to every motel, diner and pottery shop in the state. These actually make it easier to find businesses than huge billboards towering over barns.

Before Lady Bird caught everyone's attention, few Americans thought much about the wildflowers that lit up America's roadsides — and still do in places not paved over. She cherished the Texas Hill Country, where every April ignites a bluebonnet extravaganza that's become its own tourist attraction. And in saving wildflowers she also helped preserve the bird habitats they provided.

The losses are heartbreaking, and the battles continue. A relatively new threat is the cell tower invasion. You can't easily hide a 150-foot cell phone tower, though some have been cleverly placed in church steeples and dressed up with fake branches to look like trees.

The big telecom bill of 1996 lets the Federal Communications Commission overrule local efforts to ban cell towers. But the locals fight on. In May, Tennessee lawmakers got the FCC to at least stall the building of a tower that would have marred the view from the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, a Civil War site.

Tower skirmishes rage on in parts of northern New England, where cell service is not universally available. Maine Sen. Susan Collins complained that she was in Millinocket, Maine, a dead zone, when the Department of Homeland Security tried to reach her. The good news is that although she had to drive 20 minutes to get service, America was spared an attack. (And they do have land lines in Millinocket.)

I, too, have suffered recent cell phone deprivation, in northern Vermont and the panhandle of Nebraska. I, too, survived it, and after the initial shock wore off, enjoyed the quiet.

The Highway Beautification Act was passed around the time of Johnson's gallbladder operation. At the signing, he waxed poetic about the nature he saw along the George Washington Memorial Parkway as he returned from the hospital. “Not one foot of it was marred by a single unsightly manmade obstruction,” he said. “No advertising sign, no junkyards. Well, doctors could prescribe no better medicine for me.”

Rather than dwell on what Lady Bird couldn't accomplish, let's ponder how worse things would look had she not tried. Jackie's beauty lives on in picture books, but Lady Bird's glows along every roadside where wildflowers bloom. That's really something.

Froma Harrop is a syndicated columnist.

CONNECTICUT LAWS FOR SIGN USE ON HIGHWAYS

2007-07-24T13:11:00.000-04:00

IF YOU CLICK ON THE TITLE OF THIS LINK IT WILL TAKE YOU TO A STATE OF CONNECTICUT WEB PAGE WHERE YOU CAN READ A SUMMERY OF THE STATE LAWS REGARDING SIGN USE.

THE WATERFRONT PARK - A SHORT VIDEO

2007-06-29T22:50:00.001-04:00

THE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE HAS A GARDEN SITE ON THE WATERFRONT PARK AND ALSO HAS SOME LARGE CONTAINER PLANTINGS THERE. TWO COMMITTEE MEMBERS, PAUL AND BETTY GARDEN AT THE PARK. BETTY WORKS ON THE EUGENE O'NEILL STATUE GARDEN. PAUL DOES THE LARGE PLANTERS.
IT IS ALWAYS A PLEASANT WALK ALONG THE WATERFRONT BUT ESPECIALLY ON A SUMMER EVENING. BRING THE CHILDREN AFTER DINNER, THEY WILL LOVE THE BOATS AND TRAINS.

SIGNS OF THE TIME

2007-01-24T19:43:00.000-05:00

ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WITH URBAN GARDENING IS THE SIGN CLUTTER. THE CORNER OF HUNTING ST. AND WILLIAMS ST. IS THE WORST. WHEN THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN, LAST SPRING, THERE WERE ABOUT THIRTEEN SIGNS, SOME OUTDATED, MANY WITHOUT PERMITS, BUT IT DIDN'T STOP THERE, MORE HAVE BEEN ADDED, EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GARDEN WE WERE INSTALLING!!!!! THESE ARE NOT HANDMADE BAKE SALE SIGNS, BUT SIGNS ON METAL POLES, SIGNS PROFESSIONAL MADE, AND AFTER CHECKING WITH THE ZONING OFFICER, SIGNS WITHOUT PERMITS.
SO HERE ARE THE RULES - YOU CANNOT, REPEAT CANNOT PUT UP SIGNS WHEREVER YOU LIKE. IF YOU WISH TO HAVE A SIGN ON CITY OR STATE PROPERTY YOU MUST APPLY FOR A PERMIT, OTHERWISE YOU ARE BREAKING THE LAW, AND THINK ABOUT THIS, WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE, YOUR NAME IS ON THE SIGNS, SO BEFORE THE ZONING OFFICER COMES CALLING, YOU MIGHT WHAT TO RETHINK YOUR PUBLIC IMAGE. THERE ISN'T ANYONE WHO THINKS SIGN CLUTTER IS ATTRACTIVE.

THE ABOVE POST CARD WAS MADE AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, [THE OLD BURIAL GROUND, NEW LONDON] MAYBE THAT IS WHERE OUR SIGN PROBLEMS STARTED.[ WHO WOULD SEND THEIR LOVED ONES A POST CARD OF A CEMETERY?]

THE SIGN SAYS - FLYING KITES-PLAYING GAMES ON THESE GROUNDS PROHIBITED. THEY MUST HAVE BEEN PLAGUED WITH KITE FLYING RUFFIANS. IT DOES MAKE YOU WONDER WHAT KIND OF GAMES WERE BEING PLAYED IN A CEMETERY, THAT PROMPTED THEM TO PUT UP A SIGN. WONDER IF THEY NEEDED A PERMIT. BY THE WAY, I WONDER IF THE GUY WITH THE LAWN MOWER IS STILL AROUND, WE COULD USE HIM NOW, TO MOW THE OLD BURIAL GROUND. YES, THE OLD BURIAL GROUND STILL EXISTS AND STILL NEEDS TO BE MOWED, BUT YOU CANNOT USE A WEED-WHACKER NEAR THE OLD STONES, SO WEEDING MUST BE DONE BY HAND, ANY VOLUNTEERS WOULD BE WELCOME.THINK ABOUT IT FOR A SUMMER PROJECT, BUT REMEMBER, NO KITE FLYING.