10/1/2023 Sunday @ 10a at Village Green – Youth in Mission Group from South Congregational Church – We need one or two volunteers (you do not have to be a GPIP member) to lead and assist this excellent group that has chosen Village Green as one of their dedicated annual workdays. Work will be determined as we get closer to the date and get the final decision from Housing Authority. It might be that we plant some trees, shrubs or just weed/mulch some of the beds. This will be the group’s fourth year in helping GPIP and their third at Village Green. This is a fun two hours with little manual labor for the GPIP volunteers.
Featured Partnership
9/17/2023 Sunday @ 1p to 4p – HSG’s Harvest Time Event at the Welles Shipman Ward House
9/17/2023 Sunday @ 1p to 4p – HSG’s Harvest Time Event at the Welles Shipman Ward House – We need four volunteers (you do not have to be a GPIP member) to help at our GPIP table where visitors can make dried flower bouquets and help harvest the garden. Volunteers may stay for as little as 30 minutes or any part of the afternoon. Admission for GPIP volunteers is FREE. Bring your camp chair and personal refreshments. Location: Welles Shipman Ward House on Main St in South Glastonbury
7/8/2023 – Saturday 8:30a (tentative) – Welles Shipman Ward House (972 Main St., South Glastonbury).
We are planting Tobacco in the Colonial Kitchen Garden. While tobacco was not a standard plant in a Kitchen Garden, it is traditional to Glastonbury and Connecticut.
6/4/2023 – Sunday 1p to 4p – Welles Shipman Ward House (972 Main St., South Glastonbury). Militia Day: Shipbuilders and Privateers
6/4/2023 – Sunday 1p to 4p – Welles Shipman Ward House (972 Main St., South Glastonbury). Militia Day: Shipbuilders and Privateers – Members are needed to help represent GPIP at our information table, work in the Colonial Kitchen Garden and enjoy the festivities. GPIP members attend free of charge.
UPDATE- 5/20/2023 – Saturday 1p to 4p – Welles Shipman Ward House (972 Main St., South Glastonbury. Kids Step Back in Time Event
UPDATE – Sue to weather forecast GPIP will not be attending. However, the event will be held in the Tobacco Shed – GPIP members are needed to offer help with the event and can attend free of charge. We will show the children and their families how to plant the Colonial Kitchen Garden, make newspaper pots for kale seedlings to take home, grind corn using mortal & pestle, and make a scarecrow for the garden. This is a fun event. You do not need to know how to do any of these tasks – come and learn with the kids as you teach them.
Partnering with the Historical Society
Glastonbury Partners in Planting has worked with the The Historical Society of Glastonbury on many occasions. The first was a walking tour in South Glastonbury to visit historic homes and some of our member’s gardens. The funds generated supported the Society.
There have been three joint projects specifically at the Welles-Shipman-Ward House on Main Street in South Glastonbury which is run by the Society.
The first GPIP project in 2012 established a border of trees and shrubs to screen the closest neighbor from the newly reconstructed tobacco shed. Native plants were chosen for the planting, many of which would have been used by the early occupants of the house. These include witch hazel, an astringent; bayberry for candles; and blueberries and shadblow for drying and cooking.
Since 2013 GPIP has planted a small demonstration plot of tobacco plants near the new tobacco shed. The plants, donated by Ken and Howard Horton, show children and adults what tobacco farming is all about. These are tended through the summer and harvested on Farm Day in September. The plants are cut, left in the sun awhile to wilt so that the leaves don’t tear when they are strung, six-to-a-lath, and are hung to dry in the recently-opened tobacco shed
In 2015 GPIP enlarged the growing area to include a selection of heirloom vegetables. Varieties chosen show examples of what the early Welles and Shipman families may have had for dinner. Project chair Karen Rottner planted the corn, squash, potatoes, beets, carrots and onions. The plan is to involve children in the planting each spring and for young members of the Glastonbury Historical Society to tend the garden.
– Chairperson: Karen Rottner
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Partnering with the Land Heritage Coalition
We are excited to announce that Land Heritage Coalition has offered to partner with us when we do battle with invasives at the Ferry Landing!