Around Town

Lack of Growth at Route 123-Side Wildflower Meadow Puzzles Highway Chief

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Two summers after a wildflower meadow that bloomed just off of Route 123 generated high praise and frequent stops from passersby, the town worker responsible for it said he’s puzzled by this season’s lack of growth. Mose Saccary, highway superintendent with the New Canaan Department of Public Works, said he’s “a little disappointed” at the no-show flowers at 123 and Parade Hill Road, but willing to “give it some time and hopefully we’ll see some color.”

“I don’t know why” the wildflower meadow hasn’t bloomed, Saccary, a Center School alumnus, told NewCanaanite.com when asked about it. “I used the same seeds, did everything the same.”

The problem might be the acidity levels of the soil, he said. “It also may be that we’re just not giving it enough time,” Saccary said. “We did the work in April so maybe it just needs some time.

Government

New Water Fountain for Humans, Dogs Planned for Irwin Park

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Visitors to Irwin Park and their leashed, four-legged friends soon will be able to refresh themselves while walking the Flexi-pave path that skirts the edge of the Weed Street property, officials say. Concerned about park-goers using a its hose to get a drink of water, the Garden Club of New Canaan is leading an effort to install a water fountain with two spouts—one waist-high for people and another down below for dogs—along the path that leads to Gores Pavilion, according to John Howe, parks superintendent in the Department of Public Works. “We could easily run water from the garage there and we’re working on getting quotes” for the Garden Club, Howe said at the Sept. 9 meeting of the Park & Recreation Commission. “It will be a handicapped-accessible fountain similar to the one at [Spencer’s Run], with a dog bowl, and we can turn off the water in the winter,” Howe said.

Around Town

Garden Club’s Newly Planted Wildflower Meadow Blooms in Irwin Park

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Visitors to Irwin Park have yet another spot along the Flexi-pave path that circles the property where they can stop and ogle a beautiful planting. The wildflower meadow that the New Canaan Garden Club planned last fall for a prominent area below Gores Pavilion has taken root and started blooming its reds, blues, pinks and yellows. Inspired by the Mose Saccary-planned (and Murphy Pennoyer-fertilized) wildflower meadow at Route 123 and Parade Hill Road—in fact, relying heavily on the formula developed by Saccary, highway superintendent in the New Canaan Department of Public Works—the colorful area at Irwin is blooming with baby’s breath and poppies. “It looks great,” said Katie Stewart, a club member who serves on its Irwin Park Committee. “With each rain, I think, each week it will look different and better as different things come up.

Around Town

Dog Waste Not Picked Up at Irwin; Offending Humans Appear To Be Neighborhood Residents

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Recreation officials are urging Irwin Park dog owners to pick up after their pets, as several complaints have come in about waste left near and even directly on the walking paths there. With the main parking lot at Irwin cordoned off and full of snow, many of the offenders appear to be neighborhood residents who walk to the Weed Street park, according to Recreation Director Steve Benko. “We have a carry in and carry out policy, and people understand that,” Benko said. “A lot of people are walking out the gate down by Bayberry and Wahackme or Weed and Wahackme, and they don’t want to go back home with a pet’s waste bag. We’re asking people to pick up their pet’s waste and either find a garbage can at the park or throw it out at home.”

It’s been a problem in the past and it persists, officials say, though offenders risk a fine of $92 per instance.

Around Town

New Canaan Garden Club Plans Dogwood Grove for Irwin Park

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Just as the nonprofit group unveiled plans to plant a vibrant wildflower meadow at Irwin Park, the New Canaan Garden received approval from town officials to kickstart a dogwood grove at the Weed Street park. Things will start off with four dogwoods going in just off of the Flexi-pave footpath toward the northwest corner of Irwin (near enough to Wahackme) and “will not interfere with the playing fields,” club member Katie Stewart told the Park & Recreation Commission at the group’s regular meeting Oct. 8. “It’s timely because they should be planted right now, and the long-range plan would be to do a total of 12, so there would be this wonderful bloom all at once,” Stewart said. The commission unanimously approved the effort.