Richfield Springs reservoir garden complete

Jul. 10—The Garden Club of Richfield Springs completed a new project at the local reservoir.

The club used a $4,000 grant from the Community Foundation for South Central New York to beautify the reservoir on U.S. Route 20 with planting and solar lights.

The reservoir is the main source of water for the village of Richfield Springs.

The Community Foundation for South Central New York's Program Officer Stacy Mastrogiacomo visited the site Wednesday, July 10 to see the newly finished perennial garden.

Club president Rebecca Marzeski said the members started working on the garden in June. She feels that beautification is important for the village.

"We try to establish pride in all of the people who live here, and once you take pride in Richfield Springs, you start to help," she said.

Club historian and grant writer Betsy Sywetz said that the club had to clear the area thoroughly before planting.

"Back in 1948, the club had planned and implemented a perennial garden up here," she said, "and then in the 1960s the plan was upgraded, and they switched it over to shrubbery, which had gotten terribly overgrown."

She said that they kept some of the pine trees because they help keep a healthy pH level in the water.

The club decided to plant native flowers and grass so that the plants would be easily established and maintained.

The plants are labeled — there is cherry tart sedum, a variety of grasses, different colors of bee balm flowers, poppies, astilbe, spirea and lupine.

Marzeski said that the grant covered soil, topsoil, mulch, all the plants and a sump pump that allows them to water the gardens using the lower reservoir.

She said that the lower reservoir isn't a part of the village's water supply, so they were happy to use it differently. As of right now, in the heat, the club comes to water the garden every day.

"Depending on how much water you have to give each plant, it can take up to two hours," she said. "There's a lot of plants here."

Club member Tiffany Campion said that new solar lights in the garden and the lights within the reservoir light up in various of colors every night, bringing the space to life.

"You can actually see them from (Route) 20, and it looks like a night garden," she said. "The ambiance is just amazing."

She said that Boss Landscaping, a local company, helped the club make the project happen.

There are three new crabapple trees planted near the reservoir courtesy of the club. Sywetz said that in the early 1950s, the club planted more than 600 crabapple trees over the course of several years.

The club is responsible for many other projects around the village, including an herb garden at Richfield Spring Central School, planting around Richfield Springs Public Library and planting at the village corner on Main Street.

Marzeski said the club is looking to protect a small building on the side of the lower reservoir that once functioned to lower and raise the water level. The club hopes to get funding to restore the foundation and the exterior of the building, which was erected in 1879.

"We tend to have a good reputation in this village," she said, "and people tend to help us when they can, but I know there's a lot of restoration that needs to be done in the village. We're just hoping that we can keep the history at the forefront."

Jillian McCarthy, staff writer, can be reached at [email protected] or 607-441-7259.