EDMONDS — As president of the Edmonds Floretum Garden Club, Jeri Schoenfeld is helping direct the Old Milltown garden project that is to break ground in March.
Schoenfeld, 65, was elected president of the garden club last June. She continues to lead beautification efforts in the city passed down from former president Pauline Gubbels.
Schoenfeld has been an active member of the club since she retired to Edmonds three years ago after living in a house with a big garden in Sammamish. Schoenfeld loves roses, but her condo in Edmonds had no space for a garden, so she decided to volunteer with the garden club.
“I wanted to express my love for gardening,” she said.
Since late 2008 when the city acquired the Old Milltown property, the garden club’s work has centered on remaking the new park into a flower-filled “gateway to the city.”
“The project has been a labor of love,” Schoenfeld said.
The original plan was to make the whole site a garden, but the project has evolved. The club worked with the city on making the project larger; the park is currently under construction. The club plans to begin planting the garden in March. They helped raise $12,000 for the renovation.
In addition to Old Milltown, the club also is talking with the city about potentially adding a second community garden in Edmonds.
The current community garden, off 231st Street SW west of 84th Avenue W., which donates a portion of its crops to the Edmonds Food Bank, holds 24 plots and the waiting list is growing longer.
Schoenfeld’s own mission was to update the club’s website and give Edmonds residents more information about the club. The site now lists upcoming events in Washington and the club’s own workshops and events, such as a well-known plant sale on May 5, the proceeds of which help pay for college scholarships.
Edmonds Floretum Garden Club
The club’s next general meeting is at 11 a.m. Feb. 27, third floor of Edmonds City Hall, 121 Fifth Ave. N. A plant is planned May 5, PCC Natural Market, 9803 Edmonds Way. More info: www.edmondsfloretumgardenclub.org.
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