Gardening at Ocean Beach Park in Connecticut

Volunteers creating public beauty

My name is Diane Smith , and I am a member of the 20 - individual Beautification Committee in New London , Connecticut . This is a city - charge plank , and we are all voluntary with various levels of gardening expertise . The members take guardianship of 24 sites located throughout the city . Each penis has one or two sites that are his or her responsibleness . In addition , we all get together in to maintain the multiple gardens of Ocean Beach Park , a 50 - acre seaside amusement ballpark and beach site on Long Island Sound .

I am enclosing photos of the ballpark that have been taken throughout this past growing season . We mulch on a regular basis and are attempting to get rid of encroaching species by plant low - growing annuals that circulate and choke out area where , antecedently , there had been wild spread weeds . Please see our final result .

Southeast turning point of the garden . Ocean Beach Park dates to 1938 when the antecedently privately owned beach construction were totally devastated by a hurricane . Many of the new city - owned buildings , include the one behind the chief garden , particular date to this prison term menses . As with most of the gardens at the beach , we have used an copiousness of repeating shrub and perennials such as hydrangea and nepetas(Nepeta × faassenii , Zones 4–9 ) , which help oneself to tie together such a large space . The committee began to alter the original grassy hillside in 2006 into the garden as they appear today .

prosy entrance to Ocean Beach . Another magical building , with its curved Art Deco roofline , also dates to this period .

Boardwalk looking toward S - facing garden . The great garden at Ocean Beach wall the Port and Starboard , a large facility with kiosks , event facility , and a big deck for outside use . One of the independent features of this garden is a dry current bed , which was lay in a dowry of the landscape painting where there were already large granite boulders ( not seeable in the exposure ) .

East garden looking toward Long Island Sound . Here again , we have woven standardised works throughout the unconscionable hillside . This garden , like most of the hillside , began its sprightliness as a grassy area that required a lot of care . We totally got free of the grass by laying down many layers of newsprint over the area in the surrender , which prepared it to be plant the next give . What once were small shrubs and perennial have now matured into an interlacing patchwork quilt of plants .

A close - up of the east garden . Where we have spread in the garden , we add spreading yearly such as sweet potato(Ipomoea batatas , zona 9–11 or as an annual ) andlantana(Lantana camara , Zones 8–11 or as an yearbook ) to discourage the growth of weeds . We have carried out this experimentation for the last two mature seasons with great success .

Allium tricoccum garden direct to the Port and Starboard . This orbit allows handicapped access to the large consequence facility . It had previously been a graveled area , meant to discourage weeds ; or else , it pull ferine true cat that used it as a litterbox . After haul aside the gravel , we bring in dirt , build a wall , and planted evergreens , shrubs , various hostas , and yearly annuals .

There are several other gardens at the park , including this recurrent - fill garden near the in - terra firma swim pool and cabinet rooms .

One of 17 plantation owner at the beach . member set the large planters at the beach with colorful annual on a annual basis .

West side of deck garden , our raw summation . Dedicated gardeners have carved this area out of a grassy and weed - filled hillside . While working on the top section , they uncover lots of granite , which they are now forge into a rockery .

We affix this sign to our sites throughout the city .

Fine Gardening commend Products

A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchase through golf links on this site , including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertizing programs .

Get our latest bakshis , how - to articles , and instructional television send to your inbox .

contract you up …

Join okay Gardening for a free lock live webinar sport Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned industrial plant pathologist as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals technical manager …

When I spotted a particular sand buck cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few months ago , I knew I was in trouble . With a delicious color radiation pattern …

When we only prioritize plant we want over plant our landscape needs , each season is filled with a never - ending lean of chores : pruning , pinching , lacrimation , treating , amending , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be measured when you embark the backyard of garden interior decorator Jeff Epping — not because you ’re likely to trigger on something , but because you might be dive - bombed by a pair …