Features

Gilbertie’s proves valuable in Westport community

Kristina Chaney ’23, Staff writer|May 24, 2021

Gilbertie’s Herb and Garden Center contains several different greenhouses, all overflowing with a wide variety of greenery.

Gilbertie’s Herb and Garden Center is filled with people looking through the wide array of greenery to plant for the summer season. Those who visit Gilberties, the majority being Westport residents, usually hope to expand their vegetable or flower gardens.

Gilbertie’s has been an integral part of the Westport community for a significant amount of time, as it is nearing its 100 year anniversary in 2022. Gilbertie’s consistently improves the Westport community through community gardens and partnerships with the Aspetuck Land Trust.

Gilbertie’s Herb and Garden Center offers a wide variety of different plants, both edible and ornamental. It stocks a wide variety of seeds, lawn ornaments and other organic products.

“

I love it here [working at Gilbertie’s]. I get to be outside a lot, and there’s a wide variety of jobs I get to do

— Tobey Patton ’20

“We’ve established a lot of inner-city gardens in Bridgeport; getting people involved from Westport to help with grade schools and stuff in Bridgeport,” Carrie Gilbertie, the general manager of Gilbertie’s, said. “The local kids from Westport have actually gone and helped through the Green Village Project and Wakeman Town Farm.”

Gilbertie’s not only helps the Westport community through volunteer work, but it also often supplies summer jobs and senior internships for Staples High School students and graduates.

“I love it here [working at Gilbertie’s]. I get to be outside a lot, and there’s a wide variety of jobs I get to do,” Tobey Patton ’20, an employee at Gilbertie’s, said.

The Herb and Garden Center at Gilbertie’s is associated with a farm in Easton that has recently been acquired by the Aspetuck Land Trust. The farm will continue to operate as normal, despite some small changes.

“The land trust intends to keep this property as a working farm in perpetuity and is exploring ways the farm can be more accessible to the community,” the Aspetuck Land Trust official website states.

While the Aspetuck Land Trust changes the running of the Gilbertie’s farm, the Herb and Garden Center remains the place to shop for plants and garden equipment.

“If you need herbs or vegetables, or your parents do,” Patton said, “come by Gilbertie’s.”