Thursday June 21, 2007 11:00 AM
On 21 June, the longest day of the year, we plan as visit to Elizabeth Park’s rose garden, one of Connecticut’s premier cultural attractions. The roses should be in full bloom at that time and we will have a guided tour led by the best guide we could have - Donna Fuss, the leader of the Friends of Elizabeth Park, the organization which maintains the rose garden.
Elizabeth Park was established by a Hartford banking and railroad magnate, Charles Pond, who bought the land and gave it to the City of Hartford. Is is named for his wife. Lying on both sides of Prospect Street, the dividing line between Hartford and West Hartford, the rose garden is in West Hartford.
The rose garden was laid out in 1904 by a Swiss landscape architect named Theodore Wirth. He had been trained in part at Kew Gardens, the English Royal Botanical Garden, where the roses are famous. To this day the Elizabeth Park rose garden is not only the oldest municipal rose garden but the third largest in the United states. It contains 15,000 roses.
We will have an hour’s tour beginning at 11 AM. But after lunch you may want to see more of the park, which is centered on a lovely pond with great trees, shrub borders, and flower gardens of all sorts.
Lunch will be served in the Pond House, a nice restaurant in the park by the pond. Luncheon will cost $19.95, including tax and tip. Following lunch there will be a brief business meeting with election of officers - secretary and treasurer - for the next two years.
Directions to Elizabeth Park:
From the east, take I-84 west to the Asylum Ave exit, turn right on Asylum and follow it about a mile to Prospect Avenue (at top of a hill with a traffic light). Then turn left on Prospect Avenue and almost immediately turn right into the Park drive. Follow drive to vicinity of rose garden on your right and park on the drive. We will gather at the Pergola in the center of the rose garden at 11 A.M.
From the north or south take I-91 to its intersection with I-84 and then follow directions above.
From the west, you may find it easier to take the Sigourney street exit from I-84, then go north to Asylum Avenue and west to Prospect Ave.
Fred Cazel
Editor’s Note: Fred Cazel has lead several trips to the British Isles to view “Castles, Cathedrals, and Gardens” in different areas of England, Ireland, and Scotland. Some Emeritus Assembly members have had the opportunity to enjoy these trips and to profit from Fred’s extensive knowledge of famous gardens. As is suggested in the account above, he provides not only botanical names enough to satisfy the most ardent gardener, but also historical background for the more casual traveler.
June 22-24 will be “Rose Weekend” at Elizabeth Park, so we will be getting a preview of that spectacular scene when we meet there on Thursday June 21. The Park schedules other activities, such as bird walks, lectures on various aspects of gardening and other topics. There web site is www.elizabethpark.org.
Web note: see the spring 2007 issue of the Newsletter for a detailed map and directions for the park.
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