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On a cloudy morning in the Conservatory Garden near the northeastern corner of Central Park, volunteers snipped hedges, children played tag under the trees and several dozen ladies from the Pomperaug Valley Garden Club of Woodbury, Conn., poked about with horticulture books, identifying rare types of shrubs.
''It's the farthest north I've ever been in the park,'' said Peg Sargent, on tour with the garden club, whose members had fought snarled turnpike traffic for several hours to get here.
In fact, no one would have been in the garden five years ago, when, overgrown with weeds and strewn with refuse, it was named one of the most dangerous spots in Central Park.
But this week, the renaissance of the garden is being celebrated with a benefit party tonight and an afternoon ceremony on Saturday, when Mayor Koch will join a host of officials and entertainers for a 50th anniversary re-dedication extravaganza to which the public is invited.
Yesterday, $1.5 million was donated to the Central Park Conservancy by Alan Weiler and Joan Arnow, establishing an endowment for the park. The largest donation Central Park has ever received, the money was given in the name of the donors' parents, Doris and Jack Weiler, who are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Cause for a Party
Continue reading the main storyIn the midst of the summer floral season, many of the perennials are blooming, the wisteria is growing and the alluring scent of blossoms wafts onto Fifth Avenue. By all accounts, there is much cause for a party.
''It was quite sinister in here before,'' said the garden's director, Lynden B. Miller, who keeps a trowel in her purse and pulls up weeds as she speaks. ''It was very overgrown, and the hedges were all over your head.''
Marked by an ornate wrought-iron gate at 105th Street and Fifth Avenue, the garden was designed in 1937 by a landscape artist, aptly named M. Betty Sprout, and was a popular spot for many years. In the late 1960's and early 70's, with money from the city scarce, the garden fell into neglect.
But in the late 70's, the Garden Club of America's New York chapter began raising funds and tending the garden, and in 1982, work began in earnest with a grant from Rockefeller Center. Now, the garden flourishes on an annual budget of about $80,000, most of that from private donations. 'Insured Forever'
''This garden that used to be so desolate has been given back its life,'' Mrs. Miller said. ''The new donation means that it will now be insured forever.''
Covering five acres, the garden is divided into three parts. The south garden is a quiet place where some 175 varieties of perennials form colorful herbaceous borders around a reflecting pool. The center garden is a large, well-tended lawn bordered by long rows of crabapple trees that blossom in both pink and white. The north garden is more formally designed in the French parterre style, with 20,000 tulips, 15,000 hyacinths and 5,000 chrysanthemums.
The party Saturday starts at noon, and the Mayor is to speak at 2 P.M. The park is open daily from 8 A.M. until dusk.
Continue reading the main story