Spring colors have already started to push away the dismal grays of winter, which means people are looking forward to milder temperatures and seeing the beautiful gardens around town. One series of gardens can be found on the south side of Center Street in Sayville, at the perimeter of the parking lot owned by Islip Town. Industrious volunteers of the Sayville Village Improvement Society have worked for many years to make the lot an eye-catching asset instead of a litter-strewn eyesore.

SVIS records show that Kay Porter headed the beautification committee from at least 1996, where she is listed in the directory for that year. One of the other early volunteers was Helen Farnan.

“We started working on it—must’ve been 25 years ago. It was a mess. There was no fence, no garden—just a lot of weeds,” said Farnan. “It was a big job. I worked with Janet Sarsfield, who has since moved to Florida.”

SVIS, she explained, had no money to pay for landscapers to maintain the gardens, and a neighbor allowed them to use his hose for watering.

“We did everything,” she said. “I used to drag a hose from his house to water the plants. It was very hard work.”

Then, a local carpenter, Jack Ruehl, helped by giving them a gadget that opened the hydrants to use for water.

“The pine tree in the middle of the lot was only about 3 feet tall when Janet and I planted it. Now it is at least 20 feet high,” she added. “We decorated it for Christmas.”

The club also planted red roses, the blaze variety, that covered the whole fence, as well as decorative grasses and hydrangeas, among other things. Farnan and Sarsfield did this work for many years.

Pat Jennison and Barbara Connell head the committee now. Most of the work involves taking care of the plants, but other things need attention as well. A former committee head was adamant about not having unsightly, broken-down clothing-drop containers in the parking lot, and relentlessly called the persons responsible until they were removed. Another member notified the police about a derelict Jeep with flat tires and expired registration and inspection stickers that was parked in the lot for several years. The vehicle was finally removed.

“Some of the store owners do their part, keeping the space behind their store neat and free of litter,” Jennison said. “Otherwise, SVIS volunteers collect trash and place it in bags that the KIC [Keep Islip Clean] organization picks up.”

SVIS beautification volunteers clean out the gardens, trim back plants and shrubs, and see to it that replacements are planted where needed. The work is ongoing. It is not a one-time project.

“This summer there was a lot of stress on the young plants due to drought,” said Connell. The irrigation system was not fully functional. Our irrigation system needs repair. When old shrubs are dug up, there is a good possibility the system will be damaged even further. We lost some of the newer shrubs as well as the older ones. These shrubs are very costly to replace.”

“Before we had the irrigation system, Chris Bodkin would give us the key to the spigot near the lot, and we would use that to water the plants,” Jennison added.

Nowadays, in addition to the upkeep of Center Street, SVIS also pays for the winter trees in the planters along Main Street and summer watering of the hanging flower baskets.

“All the flowers and trees must be watered, and SVIS takes care of that. Of course, the timing depends on rainfall,” said Connell.

Connell and Jennison agreed that new plantings must be arranged carefully and artistically, not simply put in the ground.

“We need to replace and redesign as needed,” said Connell.

Jennison added, “Refurbishment is needed, but at this time there is no plan to take everything out and start over.”

Several factors must be considered when choosing plants for the space.    

Some plants are hardy as well as decorative, like ornamental grasses. But when the grasses became overgrown at the northeast corner of the lot, they blocked visibility to oncoming traffic and had to be cut way back or removed.

The Center Street gardens are the showpiece of SVIS. Various fundraisers are held throughout the year to help pay for them.

“SVIS does a good job!” they agreed. “Keeping up gardens like this, by volunteers, takes a lot of time, money, and work!”

For further information about SVIS go to www.svis.online. To become a member contact SVIS at info@svis.online or drop a note to SVIS P.O. Box 382, Sayville NY 11782.