Date: Fri 29-Sep-1995

By Previous Employees

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-12

Quick Words:

Entrance-designs-Glebe-begonia

Full Text:

ENJOY

STD HEAD: SUBURBAN GARDENER

EARLY AUTUMN GOLD & SILVER

B Y A NTHONY C. B LEACH

It is still a great season for flowers at Naugatuck Valley College. The

students have planted marigolds of different sizes and shades to contrast pink

and red geraniums so that the appearance of each is enhanced. These are

interplanted with pink and white begonias, to give an illusion of richness and

depth. It is the best-designed front entrance I have seen this year.

On the other hand, I have also seen some bad designs - for example, a window

box with three rows of flowers: lemon marigolds, blue ageratium and red

geraniums in hard, straight lines. Almost as bad was a bed of flaming red and

orange portulacas bordered with purple allysum.

What makes Mattatuck's designs work is they have remembered the principle of

the color wheel - colors close to each other in the spectrum harmonize; those

far apart contrast. So by concentrating on red and orange, they get a

satisfying harmony with a touch of contrast from the blue end of the spectrum

with ageratium vinca or impatiens. If you forget this and mix both ends of the

spectrum, you get a disharmony that is painful to behold.

Gertrude Jekyll was the first to follow these principles in designing her many

gardens, and we have unconsciously assimilated her ideas by looking at good

gardens. You can see her only American garden at the Glebe House in Woodbury,

which is still breathtaking - a great and complex garden.

September is a great month for some regal perennials still reigning at

Hillside Gardens, Norfolk, and White Flower Farm, Litchfield. Among my

favorites are Michaelmas daisies, or asters, which flowered well into November

at home and carried spiders' webs and necklaces of dew drops until frost. Here

you can choose these daily-like flowers in lilac, mauve, pink, rose and

purple. These are stalked with twig branches in early spring so as each plant

grows, it becomes intertwined and supported.

An interesting contrast is the false dragonhead ( Physostegia ), with rosy

lilac flowers like snapdragons and two-foot spiked in flourescence. There is a

pink anemone blooming in Hillside Gardens now that looks as fragile as bone

china.

The stonecrop, with flat flower heads on 18-inch mounds above succulent little

leaves, is very hardy. Autumn Joy is bronze and Brilliant is pinker. The

garden needs at least one, as they are generous in flowers and easy to grow.

Silver King and Silva Mound wormwoods ( Artemesias ) are useful to soften the

bold flower masses. As Richard Iversen said so well in a piece recently,

"Their silvery leaves lend a misty haze to the planting and fill all the

colors together in a single unified whole."

Another favorite of mine used to be called bunny's ears because their soft

grey ears were a joy for a small boy to stroke. Here they are lamlis ears (

Stachys byzanrin ). They have six-inch upward-growing leaves that provide a

strong focal point contrasting with the floating foliage of the stonecrop and

wormwood.

(Anthony C. Bleach and his students helped restore the Jekyll Garden in

Woodbury. Phone 263-2855 for further information.)

The Way We Were

Malcolm Andrew 'Andy' Bryant

Top Of The Mountain

Garden Club Spring Plant Sale Saturday

Full Slate Of May Programs Planned By Flagpole Photographers

The editorial took no position on the budget going up or down so you're reading things into the editorial that simply aren't there. The turnout is tied to the lack of passage, in that people who came out to vote last time did not this time, indicating a lack of support on their part. Perhaps it wasn't spelled out clearly enough, but that's what the editorial was driving at, people showing lack of support by not casting a vote. The editorial did address likely concerns among voters that may have led to lack of support and lack of turnout. This lower turnout also follows increasing turnout over the past four referendums in three years (meaning it is an aberration from that), and increased turnout is something that I do push for regularly in editorials. Any disappointment you might be seeing is at the break in that trend, not at whether the budget passed or not. I'd rather see more people come out and vote "no" then not vote at all.

Lower Turnout Results In Two Budget Defeats

Clearly, property owners no longer want to bear the burden of expenses while the state does not meet it’s responsibilities. Rising costs must be addressed by actions that do not include yearly increases of property owners’ taxes. The state of CT must meet its share of the educational costs, and other costs.

Town And School Budgets Fail At Referendum

This feels like an oddly misleading headline and narrative, particularly coming from the Editorial Board. The headline "Lower Turnout Results in Two Budget Defeats" pushes a misleading narrative regarding voter turnout, and then seeks to tie the outcome of the referendum to that misleading narrative. Sure, voter turn out for this year's referendum, 18%, was lower than last year's. However, last year's turnout, 25.4%, represented the highest turnout in the most recent 10 budget referendums. If you take the time to examine turnout percentages between 2017 and 2026 (2017: 19.9, 2018: 15.7, 2019: 17, 2020: 0, 2021: 8.98, 2022: 7.7, 2023: 8.8, 2024: 15.1/17.49, 2025: 25.4, 2026: 18), this year's turnout was actually the third highest in the past 10 cycles. Perhaps the headline of this article should say "Lower Voter Turnout Than Last Year", which is more accurate, rather than creating an impression that this year's turnout is some type of aberration - a narrative that the turnout numbers, in all their binary glory, simply do not support. Further, the headline of this article appears to tie the "lower turnout" to the defeated budgets. Sure, that could be true. But, perhaps, its more likely that Newtown residents are feeling the squeeze of multiple economic influences. In Newtown, we've experienced property revaluations and increased municipal spending. Eversource continues to raise rates. The state legislature gives PURA the authority to impose Public Benefit charges that benefit a tiny percentage of the public (and subsequently burdening the rest of us). At the national level, inflation has run rampant for years and many of those costs remain high to this day. In short, the data tells a far less dramatic—and far more honest—story than the headline suggests. This wasn’t an electorate vanishing in apathy; it was a fairly typical turnout delivering an verdict that, perhaps, some at the Editorial Board didn't like. At some point, it’s worth considering that residents aren’t confused, disengaged, or misled by turnout; they’re simply doing math at their kitchen tables and concluding that “no” is the only responsible answer left.

Enjoyed the forum which only confirmed my support for Brandon Moore as the Democratic candidate to run for the state representative position. Brandon Moore did not waiver about his duty to all the people, if elected, when an issue presents itself that requires that he voice a difference of opinion for the wellbeing of Newtown residents. If Michelle Ku’s 16 years have led to her loyalty being to other elected officials, as she implied, then Newtown is going to continue to witness actions that do not protect its residents. She could not unseat republican, Mitch Bolinsky, during a Blue Wave, and once again, will not do it now. Winning that seat is critical for all. That explains why her previous campaign committee now campaigns for Brandon Moore. It explains all the endorsements he has received from local elected democratic officials. It’s why we need Brandon Moore to be the democratic candidate to run for state representative.

Second Newtown DTC, League Of Women Voters Candidates Event Planned

Appreciated the opportunity to hear from both candidates as we were present for the College Dems forum but only heard from Brandon Moore. It was an opportunity to see who can unseat the Republican incumbent and there is no doubt that Brandon Moore should be the Democratic candidate. One concerned parent posed a question about discrimination unaddressed by the school district and interestingly enough, Michelle Ku, who proudly speaks of her Board membership years, said little, while Brandon Moore passionately addressed the issue along with his experience as an Apache Helicopter Commander. This family is supporting Brandon Moore. We need change and someone who is not afraid to disagree, especially about the rising costs of living in Newtown.

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Date: Fri 29-Sep-1995

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