Editor’s not: The following column was helf from the July issue of the Observer due to space limitations.
Once again this month, “Ewing Then and Now” features a recent “now” story—and it’s a beauty!
Anyone driving through the main intersection in West Trenton, where West Upper Ferry Road/Parkway Avenue, and Bear Tavern Road/Grand Avenue intersect, has no doubt noticed the beautiful improvement of the “pocket park” featured at the intersection. The West Trenton Garden Club recently engaged in an initiative to enhance the park, and they have done so in (and undoubtedly with) spades!
Located at the crossroads in what was then known as the village of Birmingham where General Washington’s troops split in two directions on Christmas Night, 1776 in order to surprise the Hessians in Trenton with a two-pronged attack, the small plot of land has been the location for many homes and businesses over the centuries, including at one point the original location of the West Trenton Hardware Store.
But now the land is owned by the township, and maintained by the West Trenton Garden Club, a 70-year-old organization of horticultural enthusiasts and dedicated Township residents, committed to sharing “the love of gardening, the principles of flower design, and encouraging civic improvement with its members and the community.
Birmingham Park, as it is now known, has for five years been the home to a Blue Star Memorial By-Way monument. The Blue Star program was begun in 1944 by the NJ Council of Garden Clubs with the planting of 8000 Dogwood trees along Route 22 in N.J. as a living memorial to veterans of World War II.
The idea caught on, and now, in collaboration with state departments of transportation, the program has spread nationwide to honor all who serve in the United States Armed Services. The West Trenton Garden Club is proud to have a Blue Star Memorial in the park.
But club members felt that the memorial, and indeed the park itself, needed some improvements and enhancements. So they applied for a $1000 “Community Project” grant from the National Garden Club to provide for new benches and flags, infrastructure (water supply) improvements, and some plant acquisitions for bed plantings surrounding the monument.
They were thrilled to be awarded the grant money in mid-December 2022, funds which were later supplemented by individual donations and a fundraising project of individualized, commemorative bricks.
The volunteer members of the Garden Club soon organized into teams to efficiently and effectively coordinate the various tasks necessary to complete the project, under the leadership of Rick Lazarick.
Coordination with partners such as Ewing Township Public Works, Rutgers University Department of Landscape Architecture, Bountiful Gardens and Mercer County Technical Schools Sypek Center helped to provide input for decisions, and move the project along smoothly.
Progress on the beautification of the park in 2023 included clearing out old growth in the park; replacing the benches; placing flags in the park; improving the access to water for the plantings; laying two areas of commemorative bricks; selecting and purchasing the red, white and blue-flowering perennials to surround the Blue Star Memorial, and other plants and trees for the rest of the garden; and finally planting more than 100 plants in September of 2023.
The plants strengthened their roots over the winter, and this spring, they sprung up from the ground, looking phenomenal! The members completed reporting and final aspects of the project, and held a public Celebration of the Enhancements just weeks ago in May. Garden Club members, project partners, project donors, township officials and others were invited to view and enjoy the garden, and to celebrate the great work done by the Garden Club to beautify this pocket park in West Trenton.
There are many small “gems” in Ewing—people, places, institutions which shine in their own small way for all of us to see and enjoy.
Birmingham Park is one of these gems, and so is the West Trenton Garden Club and its generous, energetic members. Make sure to visit the park, give thanks for those who have served our country, and enjoy the beautiful, welcoming enhancements the Club has made!
And if you enjoy gardening, I’m sure the West Trenton Garden Club would welcome your participation! You can learn more about them at westtrentongc.org.
Helen Kull is an advisor with the Ewing Township Historic Preservation Society.
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