A small Shakespeare garden at the Vineyard Haven Library gone to seed is getting new attention.

The garden was planted in honor of Margaret Webster, an Anglo-American theatre actor, producer and director, and features a statue she commissioned for her late partner Jane Brundred. Ms. Webster was an early producer of Shakespeare plays on Broadway. She came to the Vineyard in 1939, first living in Aquinnah before she and Ms. Brundred bought a house in Vineyard Haven in the late 1960s.

Ms. Webster was a prominent member of the arts scene on the Vineyard as well as the LGBTQIA community,

Sculpture in garden was donated by Margaret Webster in memory of her late partner Jane Brundred.

Mark Lovewell

Sculpture in garden was donated by Margaret Webster in memory of her late partner Jane Brundred.

Mark Lovewell

At the Tisbury selectmen’s meeting this week, selectman Tristan Israel said the garden has suffered from neglect. “Beyond the extraordinary life of Margaret Webster, and the Shakespeare garden and the people that she interacted with in our community . . . this was a legacy that was given to the town . . . that we didn’t honor,” he said at the meeting Tuesday. “I would like to see an effort to . . . pay homage to the Shakespeare garden in conjunction with the statue that is there and do something on that property so we can restore what was bequeathed to the town.”

Ms. Brundred died in 1968. In 1970, Ms. Webster dedicated a large sculpture by Priscilla Pattison to the library in honor of her partner. In 1976, the garden was planted in memory of Ms. Webster, and over two decades, the Shakespeare garden was site of sculpture shows, Shakespearean readings and small concerts. In it grew thyme, lady-smock and spearmint, among other herbs referenced in Shakespearean plays. The garden has been long neglected and obliterated by boxwoods, partially due to a 1998 addition renovation of the library that left it difficult to access, Mr. Israel said.

The Shakespeare garden was first brought to the town’s attention this year at the annual town meeting in April. The library is pursing an addition and appeared before voters asking for funds for the planning process. Katherine Scott raised concerns about the garden and whether it would be ruined by the proposed addition.

Since then, Mr. Israel said he has been doing more research into Ms. Webster’s life and would like to see the town remedy the neglect of the garden.

“We ought to restore some of the Shakespeare garden, at least enough that it’s meaningful, and take that statue and put it in conjunction with that in a more prominent spot.”

Chairman Larry Gomez said the garden should be a permanent part of any design process for the library going forward. The selectmen agreed to meet with library trustees in July to discuss the issue.