NEW HAVEN (AP) — Women who lost children to gun violence were among a crowd that gathered to break ground on a new Connecticut garden that will honor hundreds of victims killed by firearms dating back more than 50 years.

The New Haven Register reports nearly 100 people took part in the ceremony Saturday at the New Haven Botanical Garden of Healing Dedicated to Victims of Gun Violence.

The garden is expected to open by the spring of next year and include garden beds and bricks with information on the victims.

Celestine Bradley, whose son was killed in a shooting, says the garden will be a peaceful place to remember loved ones.

Officials say the garden will honor more than 600 gun violence victims killed in New Haven since 1968.