Eastman Living Online Magazine

BY JEAN PRESTON

Gardens & Grounds Committee VolunteersCommitted to Bringing Flowers to Eastman

The Eastman Community Association (ECA) Gardens and Grounds Committee (G&G) works each year to plant and maintain five gardens and 40 planters at the major traffic circles, golf course, tennis courts, The Center at Eastman, and South Cove Activity Center (SCAC). Over 40 volunteers participate on the G&G with five serving as the G&G Leadership Team, which plans and coordinates the annual planting with ECA Maintenance.

G&G was formed in 1988 with Linda Sadowski and Adele Furdyna as chairs. Other chairs over the years have included Sandy Noordsy, Jan Jenik, Jan Carrol, Norah Peterson, and Ellen Antell. Each year, the previous year’s volunteers are contacted to confirm that they will continue and new volunteers are recruited to fill any vacancies. Some of our volunteers have been active on G&G for more than 18 years.

The current G&G Leadership Team includes Co-Chairs Jean Preston and Sally Findley, Glenda Johnson, Christine Large, and Sharon Platt. They begin their work during the winter when they design “recipes” for the plantings to be done in each location with consideration to sun exposure and color palette. A preliminary order is developed for the approximate 700 plants that are purchased each year. Based on plant availability, the recipes and final order may need to be modified. When feasible, the plants are ordered in bulk from Pleasant View Nursery in Louden, NH.

There are many logistical considerations with the planting. The planters are prepped by removing dead plants and debris, and adding potting soil. The plants are planted the week after Memorial Day when the chance of frost has diminished. The plantings on the golf course are done on a Monday when the course is closed until 11:00 for maintenance. Flats of plants for each location are assembled and distributed for planting by volunteers.

This year due to COVID-19, we planted in phases as Eastman reopened the amenities. We could not do all of the

planting at once, so we bought and planted in installments, purchasing the plants from local nurseries, including Edgewater Farm, Kathan Gardens, Gardener’s Supply, Spring Ledge Farm, and the Plant Pantry. We also simplified some of the recipes and used more low-maintenance plants like begonias and petunias. Due to social distancing requirements, we were unable to have in-person meetings with our volunteers. Therefore, the G&G Leadership Team did all of the plantings, using Zoom meetings and emails to coordinate our work.

Volunteers are assigned to water the plants throughout the season. The garden at the main entrance and SCAC have teams of volunteers with members assigned by the week. Sandy Noordsy is the Team Leader for the entrance garden, and Peg McInnis for SCAC. Other volunteers are assigned individually to the other gardens and the planters.

ECA Chief Maintenance Officer Mike Gornnert and his staff assist with planter placement, weeding, and mulching. Maintenance staff member Nigel Heneghan adds some decorative grasses to create barriers and helps with watering at The Center at Eastman. Throughout the season, the G&G Leadership Team inspects the plantings weekly, providing plant food, deadheading and pruning, and managing any issues.

The planters are planted with annuals in June and some are refreshed with fall plants in September. The gardens are planted with perennials, with new plants added each year. In 2020, we made a significant investment with plants and labor on the Tee 1 garden, which is in a key location welcoming people to The Center at Eastman and Eastman Golf Links.

Whenever our volunteers are caring for the plants, people passing by say “thank you” for keeping Eastman beautiful! This was particularly frequent this year as more people walked the golf course and grounds of Eastman during COVID-19 confinement. We are happy to bring enjoyment to Eastman. We thoroughly love gardening—getting our hands dirty and seeing the flowers grow and bloom!

For more information on our volunteers and planters, please see the G&G storyboards on display at The Center at Eastman and SCAC.

Jean Preston is Co-Chair of the ECA Gardens & Grounds Committee and can be contacted via gardensgrounds@eastmannh.org.

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