The colorful improvements around Paxton are subtle yet eye-catching: bursts of purple and yellow on the Common; reds and oranges around the public safety building; two planters on either side of the little brick public records building; fresh mulch and perennials at the senior center; more planters filled with flowers at Klingele Field.

Who were the magicians who seemingly overnight came and painted Paxton’s public spaces with splashes and dots of color?

And who are the many hands who keep up appearances? Who have weeded and watered and coiled hoses back up and left flowers happily and healthily nodding their heads all summer long? 

“Many hands make light work,” says Robin Tasca, president of the Paxton Garden Club, the organization responsible for the beautification projects around town. 

Subcommittees galore plan the club’s numerous events: the many talks free to the public, the  DIY workshops (nominal fees to cover expenses and perhaps stipend the instructor), the annual flower sale the first Saturday in June, the three new-this-year farmers markets, the annual Books & Bloom flower show at the Richards Memorial Library, the weekly floral arrangements for sale at Carlos’ Paxton Market, the club’s Educator Grant opportunity, the watering and weeding crews – and of course the club’s professionally designed website. 

And while many volunteers are responsible for the hard, sweaty, often back-breaking (or at least back-bending)  weeding, watering, transplanting, and lugging, everyone involved with the club acknowledges that Tasca is the glue that binds the organization together. 

What began in the spring of 2020 during Covid as a Facebook group by Sara Root-Simone to connect Paxton residents who shared a love of gardening has steadily grown over the years. In June 2022, they held their first plant sale, and the next month held their first club meeting where they approved bylaws and voted on an executive board. In April 2023 they became a member of Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, and the next month received their nonprofit 501(c) 3 status.

The many hands make light work motto was on display at a recent Zoom meeting where the Community Garden and Learning Greenhouse Subcommittee met to not only celebrate the recent $10,000 gift from Fidelity Bank to support the project but also plan next steps. 

This project is by far the club’s most ambitious. With an estimated cost of $180,000, almost $110,000 has been raised in monetary and in-kind donations and services.

The garden will be situated on a just-under 10,000 square footprint on a half-acre of land located behind Paxton Center School (PCS) and the senior center. The club received permission to build on this land from the town’s Select Board in November 2025. The budget includes land clearing and preparation, a six-foot high black metal fence, a staircase, an ADA ramp from the parking lot, the raised beds, a rain catchment system, a 12x30 greenhouse, a 12x14 shed, pergola, picnic tables, and a brick-lined sundial patio.

The concept of a community garden was first proposed by the executive board at the club’s July 2025 business meeting. In the ensuing months, subcommittee members (Julie Dubuque, Karen Gearin, Dustin Hill, Barbara Matheson, Patti McKone, John Pender-Cudlip, Joyce Powers, Robin Tasca, and Andrea Thackeray) met with numerous town boards to seek input and approval – and started reaching out to local businesses for in-kind services and materials. 

Gearin and Pender-Cudlip have spent hours researching the best memorial bricks to place on the sundial patio. “The Brickmaster bricks are superb,” said Gearin, explaining that they hold the names incised on the brick despite the harsh winter weather and anticipated foot traffic. The sale of bricks will help support the project.

Pender-Cudlip, who serves on the town’s Open Space and Recreation Planning Committee, cites the results of a recent town-wide survey that ranked gardening as the second most popular activity after walking and dog walking.  “It’s important to explain that this garden will be of no cost to the taxpayers,” said Pender-Cudlip.

With a location close to the council on aging, the garden will be a place for seniors to gather and socialize even if they don’t have a raised bed to cultivate. Critical to the garden is the greenhouse, which will be available to the club for plant propagation and as a location for workshops and talks. It will also be available for PCS students for horticulture and science studies. Artwork is also part of the overall plans: The subcommittee is working with PCS art teacher Liz Rauktis who will design and have students paint a mural on the garden’s enormous water storage tank.

“Brian Lawler uncovered it while doing excavation work at the McDonough’s Worcester home,” said Tasca, describing the 12-foot long, 4-foot tall, 3-foot-wide steel cistern. “He’s sandblasting it, will paint it white, and will build a base for it.” Then it will be ready for Rauktis and the students to work their magic.

When asked what will happen if the club is unable to fundraise the full amount by Spring 2027, Tasca paused, then said with assurance, “There will be raised garden beds placed by Spring 2027. There will be the stairs, the shed, the sundial patio, and the water tank.” 

McKone added, “It’s important for residents to understand that if they believe in this project, that we greatly appreciate donations of any size.” She shared how two people came up to her at the August farmers’ market that the club organized and gave her five dollars and 20 dollars to put toward the garden. “Every donation is important,” said McKone. “Any amount makes a difference.”

To learn more about the Community Garden and Learning Greenhouse, visit 

paxtongardenclub.com/about-usjoin/community-garden W