Waterford ― For the first time in 30 years, the garden areas at Harkness Memorial State Park are being spiffed up in a major way, thanks largely to the volunteer group Friends of Harkness.

About two dozen volunteers were out at the East Garden on Wednesday, planting petunias and digging around the dirt, while another half dozen men on the buildings and grounds crew moved statuary from the basement of the Carriage House to the areas where they belong. But it is in the West Garden, also known as the Italian Garden, where visitors likely will see the biggest changes.

State workers, Friends of Harkness volunteers and its associated grounds crew have removed most of the cedar trees on the west side of the expansive property, dramatically improving framed views of the water while also revealing the original garden designs. New, thinner trees will be planted once the cedar stumps are removed.

“I am thrilled,” said Gail Brookover of Waterford, a Friends of Harkness volunteer for the past six years and one of its most enthusiastic workers. “Some people have never seen it the way it was designed.”

“I certainly couldn’t do it here without them,” said Jack Hine of Old Lyme, park administrator in charge of maintaining Harkness, who currently has no full-time employees on site to help with the work. He will have three dozen part-timers during the summer season.

The work began in fall 2021 under garden and grounds director David Neiminen. About 12 Friends of Harkness garden volunteers weeded and mulched the west side rock garden, removing horsetail fern and other invasive weeds, according to a timeline provided by Brookover.

Brookover was working on the Alpine rock garden Wednesday with volunteer Robert Montanari of Waterford, a carpenter by trade, who had recently removed an 800-pound bolder from one of the garden’s ponds. They previously had installed a pump to recirculate the water in the pond, then Montanari moved to the boxwood garden to do stone and cement work.

“The rock garden was the last to receive regular care,” Brookover said. “In 1993 it was once again restored, but with inappropriate tree and shrubs plantings, which without proper maintaining became overgrown, blocking the views of the Sound and shad(ing) the gardens till there was nothing left but ferns and weeds.”

While the Friends of Harkness did not have the original planting map to work from, it did have archival photos showing the rock garden in 1950 and 1993 to help guide its decisions. The group plans to feature low-growing plants and ground covers in keeping with an Alpine ambiance, choosing Mediterranean colors such as silver, gray, blue, creams, yellows, oranges and a hint of red to match the Italian garden look. The East Garden will be quieter, with whites, purples, pinks and some yellows predominating.

Brookover said the Alpine garden features a meandering stream emptying into the pond. Once upon a time, the water flowed into pots along the ground, creating a musical sound in one place and a croaking frog noise in another.

The gardens at Harkness, designed by the famed Beatrix Farrand, are more than 100 years old, and some are older than others. Farrand started in 1919 with the west side gardens and completed by the mid 1920s the formal English garden with an Asian flair on the east side, where a tennis court previously stood, said Deborah Shriver of New London, horticultural chair of the Friends.

“The West Garden has its magnificent views of the Sound once again,” Brookover said. “After the tree stumps are ground and removed, linear shaped Italian cedar trees will be planted along with other small shrubs and trees, and the gardens will be able to be planted with annuals and perennials.”

All the clearing, completed just last month with the grounds crew’s removal of dozens of small trees, has revealed many features previously hidden by overgrowth, including gardens planted to reflect the shape of the three suits of playing cards. The pathways are now more distinct, and the patterns of the stonework can finally be seen again, along with distinctive metalwork and a recently restored birdhouse. The water view from the Harkness mansion’s pergola offers a vista not seen in years.

“These gardens are not planted on a whim,” she said. “I know it was shocking for some, but we’re trying to return it to its historic design.”

Brookover said the park gave notice to the public about the major garden renovations by putting up signs, and the Friends of Harkness Memorial Park Inc. posted information on its website, www.harkness.org as well as on its Facebook page.

“I love volunteering here, because the volunteers are great,” Brookover said. “We don’t shame you when you don’t come. It’s come when you can.”

Wednesday’s garden planting, done in temperatures mercifully above 70, is a weekly event from 9 a.m. to noon for the Friends of Harkness, which is planning a plant sale May 20 and a silent birdhouse auction April 30 to help support its efforts.

“This is fabulous,” said volunteer Vonice Carr of New London, who also works as a Harkness docent. “There are a lot of newbies here.”

The gardens will look better once all the new plantings are installed, Brookover said, but so far response from the public has been largely positive. Soon, the fountains that are drained during the winter to keep pipes from cracking will be cleaned and turned on again.

“The West Garden will have its annuals planted in the end of May and June, and the East Garden will (get) annuals and heliotrope in May and June,” Brookover said. “By next year we will be able to replant with new trees, shrubs, annuals and perennials.”

The dazzling cutting garden between the mansion and the Carriage House will be planted with annuals in the next two months, while all gardens will be at their height from July to September. In addition to coordinating with the state on garden renovations and general maintenance, Friends of Harkness is responsible for new educational signage throughout the park.

Meanwhile, plans are to open up the Eolia Mansion at Harkness for docent tours 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday starting Memorial Day weekend and running through Labor Day. Harkness administrator Hine said weddings are largely planned out at Harkness through 2024, with the first occurring this weekend.

Long-term plans, he said, might involve renovating the Carriage House for wedding receptions or other special events. An informal tour of the building Wednesday featured a look at its long-forgotten squash court and bowling alleys, as well as an ancient heating system.

Brookover said the Friends have also considered at some point trying to utilize the Yellow House on Harkness grounds as a bed and breakfast or housing for wedding parties.

Volunteer Montanari, who said two of his uncles worked on the Harkness estate when Mary Harkness occupied the mansion up to her death in 1950, has been coming to the grounds since he was 12 years old, and he and friends used to hang out here as high school students in New London. He pointed out one hedge at the front of the property clipped to reveal Mary Harkness’s initials, another detail designed to delight the garden wanderers who come upon it.

“I think it’s spectacular,” he said.

l.howard@theday.com