“Let’s Make Wilton Beautiful!”
That’s the goal of a group of volunteers dedicated to the beautification of Wilton. They’ve joined forces with the Wilton Garden Club to raise funds to purchase flower baskets for town center lampposts this summer. They’re hoping Wilton residents will heed the call to help adorn Wilton Center and add a little more natural beauty and color in the heart of town.
Spearheading the campaign, called “Making Wilton Beautiful,” is local resident Kelly Lash, who grew up in Wilton and later returned with her husband to raise their family.
“I love Wilton and want it to be as beautiful as possible,” Lash says. “I really missed the hanging baskets last year, so I figured I’d roll up my sleeves and do whatever was necessary to bring them back.”
Her first step was to approach Wilton Garden Club president Suzanne Knutson to see if the club would be interested in partnering with her, knowing that the club acted as the town’s liaison in sourcing the flowers in the past. Knutson was thrilled to find someone so passionate about the town’s appearance and immediately agreed to join forces.
“Kelly and I are kindred spirits in our desire to beautify the town,” Knutson says. “As president of the Garden Club and co-chair of the Civics Committee, I’m all about making the town look great. I’m so happy to team up with Kelly knowing that she, and the volunteers that she’s recruited, care about the flower baskets as much as I do.”
Given the lead time required to grow the flowers from tiny plugs to flowering plants, the two women had to order the baskets in early February–110 in total–which will feature Geranium ‘Decora’ in a truly stunning combination pink and raspberry shades. The baskets will be delivered by the grower a few days before the Memorial Day parade and will be hung by Wilton’s Parks and Recreation crew, who will water them regularly throughout the summer.
Lash and Knutson are reaching out to the public to help fund the purchase of the flowers, which cost about $4,000.
“If everybody gives a little, we can cover this expense,” Knutson said. “It isn’t an enormous amount of money that we have to raise, but it will make such an important contribution to our town. And we’d like to continue our fundraising efforts to ensure that we always have flowering baskets in the future and for other town beautification projects.”
To make a donation by credit card, visit the “Making Wilton Beautiful!” page on the Wilton Garden Club website. Donations can also be made by check, payable to “Wilton Garden Club” and mailed to: Wilton Garden Club, P.O. Box 121, Wilton, CT 06897. All donations are tax-deductible and will be acknowledged.