Celebrating the Life of a Young Englishman

[click to play short video!] Rutland Garden Club celebrates the life of Joseph FitzGerald, citizen of the world.

A portrait of Joseph, surrounded by purple!

As this summer drew to a close, The Rutland Garden Club helped fulfill a memory for a family from far far away.

The Chamber and Economic Development of the Rutland Region asked us to help:

"As Concierge Coordinator. I was contacted by a man in London, England who lost his autistic son tragically last year. His son was 22 years old and always wanted to travel the world. One of his main travel ideas was to come to Vermont because he loved Bernie Sanders. The family has planted purple flowers in Ireland, Britain, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Kenya, Australia to honor his memory. He asked if we may be able to plant a purple plant or flower in memory of his son in Vermont. I wanted to reach out to you to see if you may be able to help with this request." - Karly Haven, Concierge Coordinator

The club purchased long-lived perennial Garden Chrysanthemums, called Dendranthema, in the color "Igloo Cool", a deep burgundy. We hosted the ceremony of dedication at the Rutland Downtown Depot Park.

 Henry Homeyer, September's speaker for the Rutland Garden Club,taught us a lovely gesture:

• When your cut flowers are spent, crumble the petals and scatter them upon the paths in your garden. We scattered the petals from a dozen yellow roses in honor of Joseph - the video commemorates the moment.

The family tells his the story:

"Joseph FitzGerald was born on 24th January 2002, and died 22nd January 2024, two days short of his 22nd birthday. He was the middle boy of five children whom he loved dearly. He was an extremely intelligent autistic boy who had a passion for animals and nature in general. He wanted to travel the world but wanted to make Vermont his home - a log cabin in the woods, surrounded by nature, far from urban life. Apart from a brief spell in Ireland, he lived in London for most of his life.

Would it be possible to have a photograph of the plant when it’s done? It would mean so much for us a family to see that - to know that he finally made it to Vermont. 

We’d also very much want to visit the site one day.

Once again, we, as a family are so, so grateful to you and whomever else is involved in this kind, selfless act - it really helps with the grief to know that Joseph’s memory is global - he would have loved that."

As we were just finishing a record drought, the purple plants are wintering over in a member's garden, and will be permanently planted in the Spring.

Joseph FitzGerald with his hero, United States Senator Bernie Sanders.