By LYN DESMARAIS & PATRICIA WOOD
It takes a village, doesn’t it? In my gardening column we have visited private gardens, farms, and commercial nurseries. This ongoing series celebrates our public spaces and those who provide the gardening magic for them. Pat Wood grew up here in Brandon. She worked in Boston for 15 years and returned to Brandon in 2017, coming home to help her mom, beloved Sally Wood. Pat works as the Steward at the Brandon (formerly Stephen A. Douglas) Museum, is very active in the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, and drives canoe trips for Camp Keewaydin in the summer. In her ‘spare’ time, Pat can be found everywhere gardening is going on. She told me about the following gardens so that I could accurately show the kind of work that goes into creating new gardens for the townspeople to enjoy. Please forgive me (and tell me) if I’ve left anyone out.
Here’s Pat in her own words:
17 Franklin Street – Kirk Thomas took down a decrepit house and then asked the Chamber of Commerce what we need in Brandon that would be suitable in that location. The things that we listed were not appropriate for that residential spot, or the timing was wrong for them. So, the Chamber reached out to the Greenways committee of the Downtown Brandon Alliance (DBA). Greenways suggested that we make it into a little park, adding some green space to the neighborhood. Robert Black, Joe and Melly Flynn, Tim Guiles, Lynn Wilson, Jack Schneider, and I picked up trash, dug out rubble and rocks and stacked them on pallets that Kirk supplied. The group brainstormed a design and worked with Kirk to refine it. Kirk took away the trash and rubble, then graded and seeded the area. The DBA volunteers marked out garden areas with stones and lined up some marble blocks along the front to define the property.
We put out a call for some specific type of plants that Ellen Walters and Beth Wimett helped us to select, and many people donated them. Kirk brought in soil which we put into the gardens and then planted and mulched with mulch that Kirk dropped off. Sandy Mayo had some shrubs that she wanted out of her garden, so Joe, Melly, Robert, Jack, and I dug them up and transplanted them into this new park. I contacted Marion Gibson to ask for some specific plants to fill in gaps. Susan Stone donated hydrangeas, and Sally Wood donated daffodil bulbs.
Nifty Thrifty donated some money, with which we bought trees from Miller Hill and from Virgil & Constance (both of whom pitched in with discounts). Tim Guiles donated a picnic table. Joe and Melly got a second table from a friend. We also got 3 benches from downtown that were in bad shape and were being replaced by Nifty Thrifty. Joe, Melly, and I bought materials to fix them up, and Joe and Melly did the work. Joe and Melly then built a little library and installed it, complete with books. They also built a chalk box and filled it with sidewalk chalk to be used on the paved section of the park. Neighbors across the street donated a bike rack. The park was then ready for use! A subset of the volunteers above, plus Wyatt Waterman and the next-door neighbor Michael (not sure of his last name) keep the park weeded and watered. Kirk keeps it mown and stores the furniture for the winter.
Library- Kathy Clark got wildflower seeds and worked with Robert Black to plant them along the sidewalk in front of the library, 17 Franklin Street, and in front of Town Hall. Others may have helped dig up and plant the library plot, I am not sure. Amanda Berry keeps it watered and weeded.
Bob Reed’s Hill (overlooking the upper falls in downtown Brandon)–Joe and Melly Flynn, Sarah and Louie Pattis, Lyn Des Marais, and Pat Wood planted some plants there in the spring this year. Bob Reed kept them watered until the rains started. Many of them survived! Since then, Louie and I have built a lot of terraces, and all of us have planted flowers that Lyn, me, and others donated. Mitch Pearl gave us a box of daffodil bulbs which should look great next spring. Lucas Montgomery answered an ad to adopt a garden (and has done a lot of work on Kennedy Park) and came to help lug dirt and plant large numbers of flowers. He also cut brush and dug up sumac that was overtaking the top of the hill.
