Herb Garden

In 1968 the Historical Society accepted the offer made by the Garden Club of Darien to plant and maintain a memorial herb garden on the grounds of the newly restored Bates-Scofield Homestead. The garden has since become a valued educational and decorative addition to the 18th century homestead, a worthy memorial to former members of the Garden Club and their friends. It attracts frequent visitors, occasionally even a few neighboring storekeepers who sit in the sunshine with their box lunches.

The garden beds were laid out in the fall of 1968 below a new fieldstone retaining wall, and were prepared with a special soil mixture. The following spring they were planted with herbs known to have been grown in Connecticut gardens before 1800. Some thirty varieties of culinary, medicinal, and strewing herbs were chosen from a long list of possibilities. Many of them were cherished in monastery gardens of the Middle Ages, later to be brought to colonial New England "for meate or medicine."

From April until November the garden is entirely maintained by successive teams of Garden Club members. The original plot plan developed by Mrs.Dallas Blair-Smith and Mrs. Edward C. McLean has been somewhat altered over the years to suit the habits of the plants, and a few additions have been made. In 1970 the garden received the Gavel Award at the Zone Meeting of the Garden Club of America, for its design and maintenance.

In 1975 an additional border of spring bulbs and fragrant bloom was planted by the doorway to the house beneath two ancient shrub roses. These historical roses are part of a collection of over twenty varieties which have been planted throughout the grounds and in the herb garden. One of them, the Apothecary Rose, was known in Roman times, and is a primary ancestor of all our modern roses. Four others are rescued foundlings from old houses in our area. On a warm day in Mid-June their fragrance mingles with the scent of lavender, thyme, sage and cottage pinks in the herb garden.

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Darien Historical Society
Judy Groppa, Executive Director
Susan Bhirud, Education Coordinator
Ulla Kremer, Office Manager
Telephone: (203) 655-9233
E-mail: darien-historical@sbcglobal.net