The Connecticut Unit engages in various charitable activities and programs centered on herb cultivation and their historical and modern uses.
Our outreach includes educational tours of the Herb Garden in Elizabeth Park, a spring lecture and plant sale, and an annual herb symposium. Proceeds from the sale of plants, handicrafts, and herbal delights at our symposium support our educational programs and the maintenance of the Herb Garden, which is open to the public year-round from dawn to dusk.
In 1998, the Connecticut Unit designed and planted the signature Herb Garden, with its gravel paths, linear beds, and low stonewalls within the historic Elizabeth Park in West Hartford, Connecticut. Since then, members have contributed their time and hard work to its ongoing care and maintenance. An irrigation system was installed in 2018 with the support of a private donor, and additional capital improvements are in the offing as part of the Elizabeth Park Master Plan. Members of the Connecticut Unit, along with other volunteers, can generally be found working in the Herb Garden on Wednesday mornings from early spring to fall.
The Herb Garden is open to the public 365 days of the year, from dawn to dusk. We regularly encounter visitors sitting on the benches simply taking in the peacefulness of the garden. Please stop by and enjoy our lovely, traditional herb garden.
Ready to join the Elizabeth Park Thymes? Don’t forget your sunscreen, hat, garden gloves and water bottle. And bring along your favorite tools for weeding, deadheading, or digging and your energy and creativity. We love talking about herbs while we work.
The Connecticut Unit’s first annual herb symposium took place in 1985 and traveled around the state until settling at the Pond House Cafe Garden Room in Elizabeth Park in 2003. This program is designed to educate and inspire everyone to incorporate herbs into their daily lives. Attendees enjoy an herb-infused morning snack and a delicious lunch prepared by the Pond House, featuring herbs chosen by the guest speaker. Browsing the herbal boutique and strolling through the many gardens in Elizabeth Park round out a perfect day!
Every August, members of the Connecticut Unit gather herbs and flowers from their gardens and bring them to the monthly meeting to create Tussie Mussie bouquets, which are delivered by The Estuary to homebound aging adults living in Old Saybrook and surrounding towns. Aromatherapy can help improve a senior’s sense of well being and quality of life. The language of flowers speaks to us all!
Since 1988, volunteers from the Connecticut Unit have partnered with incarcerated women at the York Correctional Institution in Niantic, Connecticut, on educational projects grounded in the belief that people can succeed regardless of past mistakes or hardships. Affectionately known as the “Spice Girls,” the York Garden Committee leads activities that help women ages 18–25 who have the opportunity to participate in the W.O.R.T.H. program (Women Overcoming Recidivism Through Hard Work) develop the skills needed to avoid returning to prison.
The projects take many forms. Inmates participate in hands-on learning by planning, planting, and harvesting the on-site garden. They also learn about the history and uses of herbs and create art projects with plant materials.
This collaborative work is rewarding for both committee members and their incarcerated colleagues, fostering growth, creativity, and meaningful connection.
