Posted by Barb B | Posted in Community Projects
History of the garden – 2014:
Master Gardeners have been working with the Am Yisrael Chai Project Coordinator, Mike Weinroth and Commissioner Lamar Paris, Union County since the summer of 2014 to create a memorial daffodil garden in Meek’s Park. The bulbs were planted to honor the memory of the children who perished in the Holocaust. It is the goal of Am Yisrael Chai to plant 1.5 million bulbs worldwide in memory of the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust, a Living Holocaust Memorial. The total number of daffodils planted since 2010, when this project started, is 77,558.
The garden is located adjacent to the Children’s Memorial Garden and has followed a complementary layout to work in conjunction with it.
The back ground plants installed were two “Blue Point” Junipers and three Loropetalum “Daruma”. We will be doing a little more planting after the daffodils bloom in the spring to add some color and texture for the balance of the year.
The dedication ceremony was held on Sunday, November 2nd, 2015 at 3:00 pm and was attended by approximately 100 members of the community. The attendees were invited to plant a daffodil bulb in mem”ory of a child who perished in the Holocaust with a sheet in the program with information about a specific child making it very moving. Master Gardener Extension Volunteers demonstrated to the community the proper way to plant the bulbs and a pamphlet was provided to anyone interested on planting in their own gardens. There are 600 daffodil bulbs planted in the garden.
This information submitted by Jo Anne Allen, MG Extension Volunteer
For more information:  President Marty Dellinger   mg2016marty@gmail.com
A beautiful plaque has been installed and was officially unveiled at the dedication.
Garden In Full Bloom – Spring 2016
April 2016 Project update: Â Â Hi All MGEVs and Friends of Master Gardeners,
Thank you to all MGEVs and Friends of Master Gardeners who helped with the weeding and fertilizing (bone meal) of the Children’s Daffodil Garden at Meeks Park. Even though the bulbs have finished blooming for this season, the Loropetalums (in full bloom) and other shrubs and hostas are simply beautiful. We will request mulch from the Park Service after the bulb foliage dies back and may put down some pre-emergent to keep some of the weed seeds from germinating.  Thank you again,  Jo Anne Allen, MGEV Chairman
March 2015 finds the garden springing to life:  (Please remember to  click on any photo to view larger)
March 5th:
  March 17th:
The article appearing in the North Georgia News about the Children’s Daffodil Garden:
Children’s Daffodil Garden Blooms
 The daffodils in the Children’s Daffodil Garden at Meeks Park are in full bloom. The damp and cold afternoon of November 2, 2014 did not stop approximately 115 residents of Union County from coming out and planting 600 daffodil bulbs in memory of those children who perished in the Holocaust.
The Garden is part of an initiative started by the Atlanta-based organization, Am Yisrael Chai, whose mission is to plant 1.5 million bulbs worldwide for the 1.5 million children murdered during the Holocaust. Mike Weinroth, the Project Coordinator, stated that more than 45,000 bulbs have been planted to date.
Mike Weinroth along with Blairsville resident Steve Mack gained the support of Union County Sole Commissioner Lamar Paris before moving forward with the planting of this garden. Mr. Weinroth contacted the Master Gardeners and they worked tirelessly in all stages of this project, from planning to implementing, along with Meeks Park Manager Larry Conley and his staff. Master Gardeners assisted in site selection to make sure the new Children’s Daffodil Garden fit nicely into the original Children’s Garden area. They researched and selected shrubbery to be planted at the back part of the garden as a back drop for the 600 daffodils that were to be planted at the front part of the garden. Brochures were created for education on planting bulbs, education being the primary goal of all Master Gardener Extension Volunteers. The Master Gardeners pre-planted many of the bulbs the day before the Garden dedication, a real work of love accomplished in the sleet and snow flurries, to assure that all of the 600 bulbs got planted. Both children and adults of Union County aided by several of the Towns-Union Master Gardener Extension Volunteers planted the remainder of  bulbs in the Children’s Daffodil Garden at the Garden dedication.
Daffodils, with their burst of color each Spring, represent renewal of nature after the harshness of winter. Come out to Meeks Park and enjoy the beauty of the daffodils.
May 9, 2015
A BIG THANK YOU to Barbara Baumgardner and Bert Baumgardner and Tom Allen. Bert and Barbara and I weeded the Children’s Daffodil Garden, fertilized the garden, planted hostas and lysimachia (as called for in our initial garden design), and replaced/planted  one of the loropetalums that did not survive this past winter. Tom went to Buds and Butterflies and got our replacement loropetalum at no cost. Hostas and lysimachia were donated to the Children’s Daffodil Garden from Jo Anne’s garden. The garden is once again beautiful, loropetalums are blooming and it is now weed-free.
Chairman: Jo Anne Allen
