Village entrance sign – before update. Photo credit: Seely Foley 2017

As you enter Wetheredsville Road from Forest Park, a look to the left will spy a large garden abloom with many new plants. After passing the old garden for years and sighing at how unkempt it looked, the Dickeyville Garden Club (DGC) decided it was time for a facelift.

To provide a little context, the Dickeyville Garden Club raises funds twice a year through the spring plant sale and the December pancake breakfast. The profits from these events contribute to various DGC projects; in the case, paying for plants in this splendid garden revitalization. Take a look at the garden before this update.

Our Process

The garden is on the church’s property, so our first step was approval of the plan from the church members. The church wanted to ensure no plants would grow too high and cover up the name of the church at the bottom of the sign. Second, this area gets a lot of sun and there is no water supply so that limited the type of plants would thrive.  And last, but not least, the preferences of certain four-legged creatures in our village was also kept in mind. We certainly didn’t want them to enjoy our new garden too much!.

Selection of Plants

Village entrance sign – after update. Photo credit: Seely Foley 2017

The base of the planting is two dwarf white spruce trees (picea glauca Conica) and four bright pink spirea bushes named ‘Neon Flash.’ The dominant floral theme is yellow from several varieties of coreopsis, and an achillea ‘moonshine’. We were also able to save the ‘Stella de Oro’ daylilies that have bloomed there for years. Flashes of purple are from salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’ and dwarf Russian sage ‘Little Spire.’ The back side of the garden is planted in a ground cover with small blue flowers called lead wort (ceratostigma plumbaginoides).

People to Thank

This garden revitalizing project was a team effort.  The Dickeyville Garden Club would like to acknowledge the efforts of local business and our generous residents:

• Clearing of the old bushes and planting the two spruce trees was done by Nelson’s Landscaping
• Seely Foley and Maxine Hodge put all ninety plants in the ground and did a LOT of weeding
• Mark Luce freshened up the sign with new coat of paint
• Steve Nordfjord assisted by collecting the trees
• Amy Fantz for spraying deer repellent on a regular basis
• The Oakes family for letting us run a long hose from their faucet to keep everything moist while the plants were getting started

Please take a walk up the hill and check out Dickeyville’s new look.  We are hoping to keep this lovely asset weed-free. While you’re nearby, why not pull up a weed or two?

Post by Seely Foley, Dickeyville Garden Club