Wilton Garden Club

History of the Club

Years of Commitment...since 1921

When the Wilton Garden Club was organized in the autumn of 1921, Warren G. Harding was President of the United States. Since then, our town and our country have changed in so many ways, but the Garden Club's commitment to Wilton has remained constant.

The club has always been more civic-minded than social. Education, conservation, preservation, and beautification have been its cornerstones although the projects may have changed over the years.

Beautification was an issue from the very beginning. Members planted trees on the town green, daylilies and shrubs along roadsides, and evergreens along neglected stretches of highway. In the early twenties the club was instrumental in bringing a state forester to Wilton to inspect the trees, and, in an effort to save the threatened elms, sponsored twice-yearly spraying.

The Garden Club planted extensively at Post Office Square and the Wilton Center Railroad Station. For many years it provided and maintained the window boxes and plants for the Post Office, and club members beautified the grounds of district schools. Club archives reveal that in those early years the Garden Club and the Civic Club worked together to raise funds for lights in Wilton Center. Through the thirties, the club maintained a small experimental nursery behind Old Town Hall where dogwoods from the Connecticut Arboretum were nurtured and later transplanted to the roadsides near the new Town Hall.

During World War II, the club ran a community victory garden until gas rationing ended the project. Members canned and froze the produce from that garden and their own to provide hot lunches for the Wilton schools. The annual plant sales provided vegetable and herb seedlings for many victory gardens.

For years the club waged war on tent caterpillars and poison ivy running rampant through our town. They lobbied against shooting pheasants and publicized the state's lists of protected plants. They marked nature trails, labeled trees, and distributed seed packets to school children. In the seventies, the cub joined with others in planting flowering trees in front of the Gateway Shopping Plaza. Sadly, all the trees were lost when the state widened Route 7.

The Wilton Garden Club's love affair with Old Town Hall began in 1934 when it rescued the recently abandoned building from demolition. An agreement with the town enabled the club to renovate and use the building in exchange for a nominal annual fee. After the war, the club added a kitchen, rest rooms, and a greenhouse.

Periodically the club refurbished the old building and made repairs. The Grounds Committee landscaped and maintained the gardens. Then, in 1977, the 145 year old building was declared structurally unsafe and its future was in jeopardy. Once again the Garden Club renewed its commitment to this symbol of Wilton's history by organizing and leading a major renovation. Old Town Hall reopened in 1980 with the club as caretaker and rental agent.

Thirteen years later the Old Town Hall Grounds Committee designed a comprehensive landscape plan for the new drive and entranceway, enhancing the site with trees, shrubs, and perennials. Four-season interest and low maintenance were just two of the important considerations in the planning process. The club's commitment to Old Town Hall and its grounds continues.

In 1986 the Garden Club presented the town a fully-automated greenhouse at the Comstock Community Center. The club, financially responsible for the operation and maintenance of the greenhouse, uses this facility for horticultural and educational programs. Many plants sold at the annual Mother's Day Plant Sale are grown in the greenhouse.

One project often suggests another. An herbarium, begun in 1962, became a Conservation Committee project by 1970. In 1981 the Garden Club presented its herbarium to the Wilton Library, making this useful reference and guide to plant identification available to the public. Members continue to maintain and add to the collection. The publication of the award-winning Ferns & Flowering Plants of Wilton was the logical consequence of the herbarium project. The book presents a record of the flora of the Town of Wilton, a guide to understanding Wilton's natural environment and its varied habitats.

Flower shows have played an important role in the club's history. The first took place in the Wilton Library in 1922, and for many years annual flower show were held there. All town residents, including children, were encouraged to participate. The town was smaller then! Later, shows were scheduled for every other year and were held in various locations, including Old Town Hall. In April of 1995, to honor the Wilton Library's centennial, the club presented "Once Upon A Time," a Standard Flower Show and in June of 1999 the club's Flower Show, "Lasting Impressions," was staged at Weir Farm, a National Landmark in Wilton.

Through the years, Garden Club activities have included workshops, lectures, and demonstrations in horticulture, flower-arranging, and conservation; promotion and support of recycling programs, the wetlands ordinance, and the Long Island Sound project; plant sales, flower shows, and house tours; programs for senior citizens and junior gardeners; road and riverside beautification; spring and fall clean-up, as well as planting around town, at the war memorials and Town Hall. Our club has given memorial and honorary books to the library; scholarships to Wilton High School graduates; and funds for projects in our town, state, and country. Most recently the emphasis is upon directing funds to those organizations in town which reflect our cornerstones: education, conservation, preservation and beautification.

This list of Garden Club activities is, or course, incomplete. Some club projects have come and gone, others continue, and new ones commence as the need arises.

Once upon a time, Garden Club members were portrayed as little old ladies in white gloves -- sipping tea. Our archives show that although club members observed the formalities, they were never reluctant gardeners. Today's Wilton Garden Club is comprised of about a hundred and fifty women, of all ages, who lead busy, productive lives in varied careers. The common thread that binds them is a love of gardening and a commitment to Wilton. This is the thread that binds us to all those women who have gone before us, and who will come after. Since 1921 the Wilton Garden Club has been a significant contributor to our town. Each member has a role to play in the present and future of our club and town.

Jeanne Corrigan