Spy Eye: The Community Gardens of Easton

Easton, Maryland, is renowned for its bucolic scenery and its quaint, warm atmosphere. In fact, Country Living recently named Easton one of the best small towns in America, citing its small-town ethos, accessibility, and charm.

Easton is also known for its “Community Gardens.” The community gardens are certain areas maintained by the Garden Club of the Eastern Shore, and even if you think you’ve seen them, you have. Here are some of the gardens and spaces that help beautify our atmosphere and our town:

The Five Corners Fountain Garden

You see this one on the right when you’re coming from the YMCA. Although it’s seemed like it’s always been there, the Five Corners Fountain Garden has been in Easton since 1987. The FCFG offers a measure of peace and tranquility in an area that some might find too ornate.

Note: I went there one day, and it was great to see the fountain working. The Italianate fountain was set in between a great array of flowers that will manage to cheer up the saddest even on a cloudy day. Park benches and a small walkway are also featured to make this garden seem like a getaway unto itself.

The Five Corners Fountain Garden is located in the same place but the street has a new name, Charles Jenkins Corner, named after the beloved crossing guard who retired after 45 years.

Frances Plate Memorial Children’s Garden

The Frances Plate Memorial Children’s Garden is one of the newest additions to Talbot County. Like this Five Corners Fountain Garden, this is located in Idlewild Park.

This garden was created in 2001 and occupies a half-acre of land.  The garden is named after Frances Plate, who was a former Garden Club member and St. Michaels resident. She passed away in 1996.

The garden is situated in a previously underutilized part of the park. The children’s garden features a boat, a walking area for families, benches, and a sculptured depiction of three children. Also featured is an engraved stone inscribed with the words: Frances Plate Memorial Children’s Garden 2002.

Talbot Historical Society Garden

If the Talbot Historical Society Garden seems to be a vestige of old Easton and representative of how quaint and enduring the town can to be, it’s with good reason. Miss Kathleen Cowgill designed the original gardens in a traditional English style that suited the surrounding areas. The site features a brick arrangement, a gazebo and visitors are greeted with a sign that says, “The Gardens.”

The layout features an especially beautiful arrangement of flowers, and the site is meticulously maintained.

Talbot Historical Society Garden is on a one-acre site and big enough for renting for gatherings, weddings, and painters, and the artists from Plein-Air are often seen there taking advantage of the natural beauty and ambiance of the site.

Note: When I was looking around, taking pictures, and enjoying the site, a young couple was out there strolling. This area is well known for attracting out-of-towners and those who love scenic beauty.

Gardens of the Talbot County Public Library

When you enter the Talbot County Public Library, you are greeted with a well-manicured flower arrangement. The Talbot County Library was built in 1977 and replaced the one that was opposite Cherry’s.

This site remains lovingly maintained by the Talbot County Garden Club, and flowers and pots are there year-round. In recent times, a bench has been added for children to draw, sit during the nice weather, and do outside activities.

The Thompson Park Garden

The Thompson Park Garden is located in Easton. Although Idewild is Easton’s best-known park, Thompson Park and the Thompson Park Garden are also places of rest, relaxation, and beauty. The design was originally done in 1972 by Elizabeth Meade Arthur, and twenty years after the original plans, Stuart Dawson expanded on the vision.

By the 1990s, Thompson Park had gained more recognition for its design and ambiance as a variety of people and groups congregated during the era of increased tourism. In 2015 more changes were made and a plaque is at the site to commemorate the time.

Currently, even more changes have been implemented to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the site. Like all of the best areas in town, the beauty doesn’t happen by itself; the Talbot County Garden Club works hard at this site too.

The  Talbot County Garden Club no longer maintains the Courthouse but they keep an eye on it as well as other places in the area.

The Talbot Garden Club is renowned in the community and is often featured in articles from Bethesda Magazine to the Talbot Spy. The Talbot Garden Club also donates flowers to local businesses and institutions, such as Talbot Interfaith Shelter and Talbot Hospice.

Recently, the Talbot County Garden Club was a big part of the Easton May Day Celebration and judged the flower arrangements that were created downtown. The TCGG also has symposiums for authors versed in horticulture and arrangements. Currently, over 100 volunteers assist in planting, arranging, and sculpting the flowers into the beautiful sites we see today.

The Talbot County Garden Club was started in 1917 and has spent the decades taking care of landmarks in the area. The community gardens give our area its character and its beauty, and they help make our region one of the most beloved in the region.

Jason Elias is a pop culture historian and a music journalist.