To contact the committee for more information, click here.
Located at 130 Penn Street, Westfield, IN 46074
Purpose
This committee is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the heirloom gardens at the Westfield Town Hall located at 130 Penn Street, Westfield, IN. The garden beds are maintained as a beautification and education project for the community. The integrity and history of the garden is preserved by continuing to plant heirloom plants. The garden is planted with perennials, annuals, bi-annuals, bushes, and trees that might have been found in gardens in the Midwest during the last two centuries. Some plants have been in gardens since the mid 1800’s.
For more information on the garden, including the layout of the plants, click here.
History of Committee
This committee was formed in 2001 with the goal of providing an heirloom garden to surround the Westfield Town Hall (now the Westfield City Hall). Co-chairs Mary Kraft and Melody Sweat and many master gardener volunteers worked together to draw up plans, remove grass, amend the soil, mulch, and begin planting in 2003.
An information brochure was created to be kept in an information box located at the garden. There have been many changes to the garden over the years. The variety of plants is ever changing. In 2017 the garden was extended to the east side of the building, to create a beautiful shade garden. The city is now reconstructing an historic wooden cabin on the east side next to this garden. We may be working with the Westfield Historical Society to design and plant an historic garden around the cabin in the future. The information brochure for this garden was updated in 2016 and 2021.
For more information about specific heirloom plants, click here.
Plant Sale: Plants from the garden can be donated to the HCMG Plant Sale for the general sale and the heirloom plant table. Plants are also purchased from outside sources if needed or donated to the garden by the plant sale committee.
COMMITTEE CHAIR RESPONSIBILITIES
Members:
Represent the Heirloom Committee at the annual Committee Fair in January. Provide information about the committee and encourage interested members (existing members & interns) to sign up to volunteer for the committee. After the Committee Fair a welcome email will be sent to previous members, and interns that signed up at the Fair. Previous members will be asked if they wish to continue volunteering for the committee and the interns will be welcomed.
Budget:
The City of Westfield has budgeted $500 for the garden to be used for plants, flowers, or permanent additions to the garden. The HCMGA budget for the garden in 2022 is $1150 to be used for plants, equipment, and supplies. A voucher with attached receipts is submitted to the HCMG treasurer for reimbursement for their potion of the budget, and an email with attached receipts is sent to the deputy clerk of Westfield for the city’s portion of the budget.
Maintenance:
A maintenance schedule is prepared after the members indicate availability and mailed out in March. The schedule usually begins mid- April and continues through mid- October. We like to schedule at least three volunteers per week if there are enough members. The work for the maintenance weeks consists of watering, weeding, deadheading, transplanting, or other tasks that the co-chairs may identify. Feedback and suggestions are encouraged and appreciated from the weekly workers. The co-chairs are available for questions and to pitch in and work when necessary. The goal is to welcome all volunteers, interns, and multi- year veterans; learn as we garden together; and welcome the citizens of Westfield to visit the garden and answer questions. There is a reminder email sent out each week to the maintenance crews. It outlines the weekly tasks and any special tasks that need to be addressed that week.
Workdays:
There are generally three “all committee workdays” scheduled. One in early April to clean up from over the winter and plant pansies; another in late May or early June is for planting annuals, and the third in late October or early November is to put the garden to bed for the winter. We might add a workday in early December to help assemble the winter pots.
Calendar:
Put workdays on the Purdue HCMG calendar. Contact Chris McConnell to request mulching. He often needs multiple reminders. Keep member volunteers up to date and send reminders of workdays, or any other events the garden may be involved in.
Beds, and Yearly Responsibilities:
The Heirloom beds consists of the west side, the front of the building (south side) including the large cement planter next to the door, and the east side shaded area continuing along to the back of the building. There are three cement pots on the west side that we change seasonally. Pansies in the spring, a summer annual display, mums and/or Kale for fall, and a winter arrangement for Westfield in Lights.
Contacts:
Chris McConnell– He oversees grounds and maintenance for the city of Westfield. Contact him for mulching or any issues you have with the property. cmcconnell@westfield.in.gov
Rex Jones—contact at the Westfield Library if you need to reserve a room for the kick- off meeting. 317-896-9391 ext. 117. (This may change now that they are building a new library.) rjones@wwpl.lib.in.us
Debra Tolley—Clerk Treasurer Westfields Treasurer’s office. Email receipts for $500 reimbursement from the city. They do not have a voucher. 317-804-3009 dtolley@westfield.in.gov
Collen Quinn—Administrative Coordinator for downtown Westfield Association. 317-446-2450. Coordinates events for the city. colleene_mccleery@yahoo.com
Community Events:
In the past we hosted a table at the Westfield Farmers Market. We have not done so since 2018. The market has changed locations and is being held on Thursday evenings. This may be something to consider doing again in the future. (Teresa.otis.skelton@gmail.com) 317-804-3185. The Heirloom Garden is considered part of Community Engagement for the city.
Labels & Brochures:
The brochure was updated in 2021, however, a redesign might be a good idea to better represent the garden as it is today. There have been many new plants added over the past two years so new labeling is necessary. Send any photos to the HCMG Historian.
Other/Misc.:
Maintain communication with our officer at large. Questions, issues, and problems can be taken to the board by the OAL.
Thoroughly and thoughtfully fill out the annual Committee Chair Questionnaire.
When you step down as committee chair make sure you transfer important and useful documents. (Work with OAL). Share important details and/or activities and plans with the incoming chair(s). In person meetings are recommended to ensure a smooth transition.
GOALS FOR 2022
COMMUNICATION! This is a large committee with many new interns that need a lot of guidance not only on how to work the bed, but to welcome them to the organization. We are sending more emails and reinforcing to the maintenance crew to talk to each other. We strive to be all inclusive, encourage ideas from all members, and provide a display garden for Westfield that can be beautiful, and provide a learning opportunity.
We have added many new plants this year to freshen up the overall look of the garden, and to add more variety.
The identification labels are faded and have the old logo. We are hoping to get them replaced this year.
We are working on a more comprehensive list of plants in our garden. We have many different plants, varieties, and cultivars. We hope to get it posted on the website.
It will be a future goal to have a table at the Farmers market, to answer questions, encourage gardening, and interact with the citizens of Westfield.
