The Verplanck Garden Club

05/30/2026

How to grow an easy native perennial that blooms for 3 months! ANISE HYSSOP

Curious about Anise Hyssop? Learn all the information you need to know to grow this wonderful perennial. I've germinated and cultivated dozens of plants.

05/27/2026

Instead: Manually pull weeds from garden beds, then cover the soil with 3-4 inches of organic mulch to discourage more from taking hold. To eliminate small weeds from cracks and crevices between pave...

05/27/2026

Honoring our History. Growing our Future.

The First Reformed Church of Fishkill, located at 1153 Main Street, is one of the oldest congregations in Dutchess County, with roots dating back to 1716. Its 1731 stone sanctuary played a pivotal role in the American Revolution, serving as a state capitol, meeting place for the New York Provincial Congress, and a military prison.

When the 4th New York Provincial Congress was driven out of White Plains, it relocated to this church. Delegates met inside the sanctuary, where they drafted portions of the original New York State Constitution.

The VGC chose this location for one of its seven Roots of Liberty gardens due to the historic importance of this church during the American Revolution and also for its iconic presence as the pathway to the Village of Fishkill. The Roots of Liberty project is financed by the The Verplanck Garden Club, by the Town of Fishkill, and frankly, by our community. We are in need of donations to complete and maintain this ambitious project. If you enjoy seeing our seven gardens grow throughout Fishkill, please make a donation, of any size, to: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-to-the-roots-of-liberty-project-by-the-verplanck-garden-club

Your generosity will help honor and preserve the Revolutionary War history that shaped Fishkill and Beacon and our collective place in this nation's founding.

Thank you for supporting our heritage and for helping our community bloom.

05/25/2026

05/23/2026

The VGC pollinator garden next to the Fishkill Rec Center got an infusion of red, white and blue flowers this week, all in honor of the 250th Anniversary of our nation’s independence. It will take a few weeks for the colors to show prominently but in the meantime, stop by to check out what’s blooming. I noticed snapdragons and iris last week. Go take a look!

05/23/2026

The Verplank Garden Club installed a steel drummer in the center of a red, white and blue circle of flowers in front of The First Reform Church in Fishkill , New York, to honor the Anniversary of the 250 years of the Declaration of Independence. The statues were created by Robert Van Winkle.

, May 22, 1776, New York’s Third Provincial Congress reconvened at the First Dutch Reformed Church in Fishkill to respond to the Continental Congress’s proposal to establish each colony as a state. It stood by its earlier "Plan for Accommodation” and instructed its delegates not to vote for independence. The document was sent to Patriot representatives in the Continental Congress such as John Jay, Robert Livingston, and George Clinton to guide their work in Philadelphia.

The plan acknowledged the indictments against Great Britain. It required that Parliament repeal the taxation laws and leave the question of taxation to the colonies. New York would establish its own government, but no mention was made of severing trade relations or separating from the King.

A letter sent to the King from the Assembly on March 25, 1775 sums up the Provincial Congress’s position and offers an apology for any perceived rejection of the status quo: “We acknowledge there are Appearances, which may be construed to our Disadvantage, and that several of the Measures pursued by the Colonies are by no Means justifiable; yet while we disapprove and condemn them, we entreat you as the indulgent Father of your People, to view them in the most favourable Light, and to consider them as the honest tho’ disorderly, Struggles of Liberty, not the licentious Efforts of Independence.” A year later, the Provincial Congress had not changed its mind.

This second rejection of a permanent separation from Great Britain frustrated most of the Continental Congress. John Adams lamented at New York’s half-hearted response: “What is the Reason that New York is still asleep or dead in Politicks and War? Is there anything in the Air or Soil of New York unfriendly to the Spirit of Liberty? Are the People destitute of Reason or Virtue? Or what is the cause?”

Was it because there were so many Loyalists in New York City? Because the fortunes of the port of New York were tied so closely to international trade? A general conservativism that made New Yorkers reluctant to support the radical act of independence? Whatever the cause, caution was most definitely in both the “air” and “soil.”

Image: The First Reformed Church in Fishkill, NY, 2014. Photo by Alexius Horatius.

05/20/2026

The last of the Roots of Liberty plantings was completed at Mount Gulian by members of the Verplanck Garden Club. This time, the soldier silhouette was installed by Robert Van Winkle in a planter so as to not interfere with parking and access to this historic site. The red, white, and blue flowers will make a stunning display in the weeks to come.