Ledyard Beautification Committee seeks partners for flower bulb project

Plan is part of group’s concerted effort to give town attractive, cohesive look

Ledyard — The Ledyard Beautification Committee is planning to “Blanket Ledyard with Bulbs,” coordinating a townwide effort to spruce up public spaces with daffodils that will bloom in the spring.

Meredith Robinson, who chairs the group, said it started a few years ago as a concerted effort to give the town an attractive and cohesive look. Members come from a variety of other committees and groups, including the garden club and now-defunct Town Center Committee.

Other projects they’ve done include a townwide Earth Day cleanup, working with landscapers to “adopt” little patches of land around signs at landmarks in town, and installing banners featuring residents’ photographs on the lampposts in Ledyard Center. Even though it’s a town committee, all of its projects are entirely funded by donations.

“It’s little changes that as people go through, they say, ‘Oh, that looks nice,’” Robinson said.

The bulbs project started this past summer; she said the committee chose bulbs because they flower every year, and selected daffodils specifically because they’re deer-resistant.

The committee then sought donations of bulbs and money for the project, campaigning on Facebook and in person at town events such as the farmers market. Residents Julie Scarpa and Tracy Bourguignon both found out about the project through social media and donated, and they also plan on helping when the committee begins planting.

A gardener herself, Scarpa said she loves daffodils and thought the project is a great way to show community spirit and give back to the town. Since she found out about the project, she’s found spots in her own neighborhood that she thought would benefit from a little patch of daffodils, and she hopes others are inspired by the project to plant in their own spaces.

Bourguignon said she loves all things spring, and she thinks residents will enjoy the flowers when they pop

up next year. She said one of the appeals of the project is its simplicity, and she thinks the cross-town plantings will bring together people from different parts of town who might not have met otherwise.

Robinson said the committee will have about 3,000 daffodil bulbs to plant, a combination of donations of money and bulbs; she said Holdridge Home and Garden Showplace gave the committee a good deal on bulbs for the project. Locations will include the schools, municipal buildings and the town green, with a few hundred bulbs at each spot.

“We’re pretty much looking at all the main thoroughfares in town that are under the town’s control, as well as a few private areas where we’re getting permission from the property holders,” she said.

“We’re hoping that in April, the town’s going to be yellow,” she added. “We would love for Ledyard to be a destination town, maybe not next year but someday, for people to come and see the daffodils.”

The committee is looking for volunteers to assist with planting, as the bulbs need to be in the ground before Veterans Day. Robinson said a few people per patch would be able to finish the planting in an hour or two, and the committee has been reaching out to scout troops, sport teams and other community groups.

Interested volunteers can call Robinson at (860) 4644123 or email her at meredithrobinsonLBC@gmail.com.