GARDEN, Mich. (WZMQ) – A Delta County community is raising funds to make their home an even more beautiful place to live.
For about a year and a half, Grow Our Garden has been beautifying the village of Garden.
“We started out simple with just putting a whimsical chair in the park, and then we decided to spruce up the town itself,” said Rosemarie DeVora, the group’s assistant treasurer. “We began with flower baskets hanging from the poles, memorial flower boxes up and down the streets, we planted 20 flowering trees. We’re working on a butterfly garden for the village.”
In preparation for the upcoming season, the group has set up a fundraising meter in the center of town, with a sunflower rising to the top of the stem as support comes in.
“It was a good visual indicator of where we’re going and what we need, and it just goes hand-in-hand with what we’re feeling for Garden,” DeVora said. “It’s bright and cheerful, and you can see it when you drive by.”
Grow Our Garden aims to raise $1,500 for hanging flower baskets and ground planters. They also hope to raise additional funds for other projects around Garden.
“We’re going to try to plant at least 20 more trees,” DeVora said. “We’re going to put redbuds and sherbet hydrangeas because they bloom at different times of the year. We’re trying to get a gazebo for the park to make it more inviting for the parents and the children…and that’s just the beginning.”
DeVora says Grow Our Garden is just one way the community is developing and thriving.
“We now have two eating establishments in Garden,” she said. “We’re having another one open up in springtime. We had the first annual Harvest Festival last year, and that was a raving success. It’s reflected even in people’s yards. They’re proud of this little village, and they should be because it’s a special place.”
She says the group is grateful for the public’s support in “growing their Garden.”
“The whole project is to reflect to the outside world what Garden is to us and the people and the culture,” said DeVora. “We want to make this place bloom.”
Donations toward the flower meter can be made at First Bank, located at 6322 State Street, or by contacting any Grow Our Garden member. For more information about the group or the fundraiser, visit GrowOurGardenGroup.com or the Grow Our Garden Facebook page. The group can also be reached at GrowourGarden@gmail.com.
