Our Story

By 1991, a dedicated group in Hartford, VT, had adopted the name Hartford Garden Friends, held monthly meetings, and cared for a growing number of gardens in the town. With a passion for flowers and gardening, it all began when Paul Bennett met with Victor Rubdi about planting a garden. Growing from that meeting came the idea of adding colorful flowers in public spots around Hartford, VT.

Flower loving volunteers formed a group to help Paul and Victor with weeding and watering. To balance out the garden chores, the gardeners and families met for delicious potlucks at Christmas and in July.

Flowers for these gardens came from tubers over-wintered in Paul’s basement and plant starts from seeds grown under lights. When the plant demand outgrew the space in Paul’s basement, the plants were purchased from local greenhouses with dues or donations.

Gardens had sprouted up throughout Hartford in medians, in parks, and intersections. One garden near the Town Hall is dedicated as a memorial garden in honor of Paul Bennett.

Today, the group of volunteers cares for 20+ garden beds and pots of lovely flowers that add bright, colorful spots around the villages of Hartford. For the first 30 years the focus was on planting flowers and shrubs that are suited to our climate zone and provide color throughout the growing season.

However, in recent years, we began to incorporate native flowers, shrubs, and pollinator plants into our gardens, and learning to identify invasive plant species and insects. The Rock Garden at the bottom of Exit 11 off of I-91 is an example of one of our gardens with many native plant species, as are the gardens at the Bugbee Center and the Briggs Garden (along the fence on the edge of the parking lot in downtown WRJ.) Black Eyed Susans, Purple Cone Flowers, Purple Flowering Raspberry, Butterfly Weed, Trumpet Vine, Red Bee Balm, New Jersey Tea, and Purple Perennial Salvia are examples of native plants now in our gardens.

We have taken on several new projects in recent years even though that has stretched the capacity of our volunteers. In 2022, we partnered with the Bugbee Center to work on the gardens around the Center and that partnership has continued. Bugbee volunteers help with mulching, watering, and fall clean up while Garden Friends plan and maintain the gardens during the growing season. The seniors who visit the center often stop to admire and ask questions about the gardens.

In addition, since 2024 we have worked with the Monument Committee and the Queechee Garden Club to put in a variety of perennial plantings at the base of the new WWI and WWII monument in Veterans Park, and took on the job of cleaning up the Patriot’s Memorial Garden near the West Hartford Library which had become overrun with weeds.

Volunteers have been active in the community by participating in Alumni and Halloween Parades, Glory Days of the Railroad, program presentations, Block Parties, and work with Hartford Park and Recreation Department for plantings.

We think our town looks better with flowers. If you agree, maybe you can become part of the solution of mitigating the negative effects of climate change and providing places for birds, butterflies and other beneficial insects to thrive in our community. If you’d like to volunteer, please email us: hartfordgardenfriends@gmail.com.

If you cannot volunteer but you’d like to support our efforts through donation, please click here.