Wednesday, July 30, 2014
WARREN
Volunteers in the Women’s Park get “sweaty and dirty,” but as dedicated gardeners, they love it that way.
“We get so many compliments on the garden,” said Marti Flint, vice president of the Upton Association board of directors. She and Darlyn Gardiner, also on the board, coordinate volunteers in the Women’s Park.
Volunteers meet at 9:30 a.m. Wednesdays at the park that faces Mahoning Avenue NW, across the street from the Harriet Taylor Upton Association, 380 Mahoning Ave.
Wearing their pink shirts with Women’s Park stitched on them, gardening gloves and boots, volunteers spend a few hours each week pulling weeds, deadheading flowers, cleaning the pond and doing general garden chores.
Volunteers who can give time in the garden, whether regularly or occasionally, are welcome with open arms. There is a core group of volunteers who live in Trumbull County.
The Upton Association sells bricks used on the pathways and courtyards in the park. The bricks are inscribed with the names of women. Sally Mazer, a board member and brick chairwoman, said about 1,000 bricks have been sold. It’s an ongoing project. Though some of the bricks are in memory of those who have passed, many are in honor of women, who can enjoy seeing their names and inscriptions when they visit the park.
A focal point is a bronze statue of a young woman holding a book behind her back. “The book behind her back hints at the inner self,” Flint said.
A large urn, filled with plants, is another point of interest in the butterfly garden.
Just like many other gardens in the Valley, the plantings in the Women’s Park were hurt by the harsh winter.
Read more about the park and how you can help in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.