Saturday, June 13, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Garden Angels
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Caterpillars are here!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Caterpillars
As the plants are planned and mostly installed in Miss Carolyn's Garden, we turn our thoughts to the creatures who might live there. We knew from the beginning that we wanted to attract butterflies, so to go one step further, we are going to grow them inside the library while we are waiting. Here are some photos of the habitat we have set up in our ground floor display case. Larvae and food will arrive by mail in the next week or so, and anyone who visits will be able to see them grow! To learn more about the life cycle of a butterfly, go to The Children's Butterfly Site.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
What a Difference a Week Makes
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
We have a plan!


Here it is, the design by Rodney Hayes, master gardener, for Carolyn's Garden. The garden is designed with plants and flowers to delight children, attract butterflies, reflect Miss Carolyn's preferences, and to thrive in our particular location. You can download a PDF copy on our website: http://www.hagamanlibrary.org/ We hope you will join us on June 12 to enjoy the garden and celebrate in person.
Seeds are being planted...
Rodney thought it would be nice to include the children in the preparation, so she suggested that they start sunflower seeds in the children's room, to be transplanted when they are tall enough. Hurry in to the library to plant your seed and check back here for growth progress!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Thank you to anonymous donors
We had a great turnout for Amy Ziffer's program on Cottage Gardening on Saturday. Thank you to Cynthia Gwiazda, community services librarian, for putting the word out that we are still collecting donations for the garden. And thank you to all who donated generously, especially to the person who donated a 100-dollar bill!
Plans are moving forward. Frank Andrews has located a source for granite benches and pictures will be available soon. A drawing and proposal for the garden, created by Rodney Hayes, will be available in the next few weeks. We are on target for the June 12 dedication. Thanks for your patience with the updates!
Plans are moving forward. Frank Andrews has located a source for granite benches and pictures will be available soon. A drawing and proposal for the garden, created by Rodney Hayes, will be available in the next few weeks. We are on target for the June 12 dedication. Thanks for your patience with the updates!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Planning for Miss Carolyn's Reading Garden Begins

Carolyn Siedzik, known to children as "Miss Carolyn", was Hagaman Library's children's librarian from 1967-1973, and 1981-2008. Children from East Haven and surrounding areas enjoyed regular storytimes and special programs with Miss Carolyn--she touched countless lives with her enthusiasm, sense of humor, and knowledge of what children like to read.
Carolyn died June 19, 2008 at age 57 after a battle with cancer. She had long dreamed of creating a garden on the library grounds with a bench and a tree where people could sit and read. Her dream has inspired library members and friends to create a garden in her memory.
Last night was the first meeting of our group to plan for Miss Carolyn's Reading Garden. Carolyn's husband Dick Siedzik, her son Eric Freeman, brother Frank Andrews and his wife Marla DeMusis, Barbara Brow from East Haven's garden club, Mary Polverari from Hagaman Library's Friends of the Library, and Karen Jensen, library director, met to discuss preliminary plans.
Some of the plants that Carolyn liked include tiger lilies, lily of the valley, hosta, tulips, daffodils, forsythia, and Japanese red maple trees. She liked bright colors, especially blue. We considered planting some butterfly bushes as an added attraction! Karen and Mary had attended a garden planning workshop at Van Wilgen's garden center in Branford, and all agreed that Van Wilgen's would be a great source of plants for the garden, as the plants are top quality, and the staff will provide planning direction at no cost.
So far, the garden will be approximately 20 feet in diameter, with an area for children to sit and listen to stories, plus a bench and plaque to honor Miss Carolyn. Frank is going to look into sources for the bench, plaque and a fundraiser to purchase bricks for paving a section of the garden.
Our target date for completing the garden is June 12, 2009. On this day, Friends of the Hagaman Memorial Library will host a dedication of the garden, complete with music and refreshments, at 6:30 p.m. All are invited, so please save the date!
Please watch this blog for updates to the project. In the next few weeks, we will be moving forward with a drawing of the garden, choosing plants, and making decisions on the bench and plaque. The garden is 100% privately funded, and we are actively soliciting donations. Please consider contributing generously, and spread the word to your employers and friends. Our library is fortunate that Carolyn had a vision for a beautiful reading space, and her garden should be an asset to the library and the town for generations to come.
Thanks to hortusthird at flickr.com for the image posted above.
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