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.