A Triumph of Will and Determination

A Triumph of Will and Determination

For years, everyone visiting the Board of Education or circling the century-old roundabout at the junction of Valley, Church, and Hillside fumed about the muddy mess in this 40-foot-wide circle. Back in 1976, the Garden Club of Montclair donated a fountain and plantings. We created and maintained an oasis in the middle of the road for 30 years until that responsibility was taken away from us and the area languished. Careless construction vehicle further degraded the area. In December 2024, Club Members met with the planning and development office of the town to offer our help in the rebirth of the circle as part of the Club’s mission to combine civic beauty with environmental best practices. Talented Club Members came up with a beautiful plan using only native perennials and grasses. Months of careful planning followed, involving calculations of soil needs, plant quantities, mulch, and logistics. A pivotal moment came when a local resident’s letter expressing frustration with the muddy circle appeared in the Montclair Local. The Club quickly responded, announcing their upcoming efforts and highlighting their commitment to beautifying Montclair.

 

A Community Effort Takes Root

On Friday, June 13, 2025, a pile of eight cubic yards of soil was dumped on the circle, a packed and weedy, stony mess. The weather was a summer combination of rain storms and humidity. Several hardy souls started hacking away at the mats of grass and weeds with rakes and hands, until one Member remembered that this is what rototillers are designed for! Over the next four days, whenever the rain let up, Members pushed the jumping machine back and forth, painstakingly filling 10 paper leaf bags with chopped up weeds, before adding three inches of fresh soil over the area. We left a boundary of four feet for the town to fill with stones or Belgian block to allow for clumsy drivers. During those back-breaking days, passing cars honked their approval, and some local people even joined in the work. Wednesday was the fun day. The truck arrived with the plants and Club Members scampered between the cars, carrying 236 plants onto the circle. Members and friends dug down to the very vocal good wishes of passers-by. It was a remarkable shared experience, driven by the need to get the plants in before the forecasted heat wave, but also a reminder of our renewed commitment to our town and the environment. Happily, there is a water pipe in the circle that was put in a few years ago when the township was considering replacing the old fountain. The attempt was abandoned when the town realized how difficult and expensive maintaining fountains are in the north-east, but the pipe remains. The town agreed to attach a spigot to this pipe to connect drip hoses to water the plants during the ferocious heat of the summer.

We look forward to maintaining our beautiful new garden in the middle of the road. Truly, this has been a triumph of will, camaraderie, and cooperation.