In 2013 Rowayton Gardeners Club partnered with the 6th taxing District Commissioners in an advisory role to keep Pinkney Park pesticide free, since then it has become a showcase for organic, chemical free gardening. The Rowayton Gardeners have been collaborating with Historic Rowayton to maintain two very special areas in the park.
The Herb Garden
The flagpole in Pinkney Park was dedicated long ago to former Rowayton Postmaster, Paul J. Rooney. The garden within its stone surround has been tended by the Rowayton Gardeners since 2013. With the addition of a drip system that was funded by a grant from the 6th Taxing District in 2016, the herb garden took on a whole new dimension and for the past several years has included more than 20 different varieties of herbs (many of them flowering) used for medicinal, cosmetic and culinary purposes. In 2018, metal plant labels were installed in each of the 4 quadrants so that visitors could learn the identity of the herbs planted there. Visitors are encouraged to snip, making gentle use of this community treasure.
The Historic Rowayton Memorial Garden
The Memorial Garden had it’s beginning in 1990 as Rowayton Historical Members donated plants to give it a start. It wasn’t until 2012 after Sandy devastated the existing garden that the Rowayton Gardeners stepped in to give a hand. In 2016 it truly became a Memorial Garden when vintage fencing which originally stood at Rowayton Railroad Depot, built in 1868 was restored, added to and installed around the garden with its dedication plaque. The garden contains a wide diversity of plant material primarily perennial with the focus on native and pollinator friendly, some annuals are added each spring as well as replacement plants that didn’t survive the winter. The bloom time is late April through the first frost in October, and attracts many, many bees, butterflies and local birds.
In June of 2020 with help of Tulip Tree Site Design, the newly renovated Raymond Boathouse with its new staircase was grounded with large rocks and soil that were brought in. It was tweaked with a little more soil and rocks and simple deer resistant conifers and perennials were planted. With this improvement a new room was created between the Boathouse and the Memorial Garden and the back area against fence needed addressing. An old stump of a Silver Maple became the anchor point for the edged garden bed area to right, bringing in a little a more soil, a few rocks and again deer resistant conifers the simple garden was created. With this complete there is now what has become the corner gardens in Pinkney Park.
