Submitted by Cathy Klein
Photos courtesy Louise Malone
December 19. 2016 11:12 a.m.
Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.– Hans Christian Andersen
I moved to Summer Beach looking for a way to connect to my new community. I have chosen several ways to volunteer from a long list of worthy organizations here in Fernandina Beach. One of them is Flowering Fernandina and I would like to spread the word about this fun group of people.
Flowering Fernandina was started by and led until recently by Eileen Moore who decided we needed more plants and flowers on Centre Street and did something about it. She gathered many others around her to make that happen, including Karen Lavine who is also a resident of Summer Beach. Karen plays a vital role and coordinates the volunteers who water our flowering baskets. We enjoy the support of local businesses and city officials and we benefit from the generosity of donations from individuals as well as Martex Landscaping, Liberty Landscaping Supply and Lowes among many others.
I am not a great gardener, nor can I design table centerpieces that are lush and beautiful. But I can plant flowers, water them and enjoy the way they make Centre Street even more lovely. Flowering Fernandina is a group of volunteers who do just that and have been doing that for 10 years. We do not have a board of directors or monthly educational meetings. We are a grassroots (pardon the pun) volunteer project that plants flowers three times each year and we water them every week throughout the year.
We have watering volunteers who are here part of the year and some that live here year-round. We welcome anyone who is interested in joining in on this worthy and fun effort. Please join us as we work together to make historic Fernandina Beach more beautiful. Contact Karen Lavine at 443-306-6346 or [email protected].
Not only can Ken, Maintain the Fernandina Botanical Gardens, along Center, He also plays a Mean Ukulele, Now if he could somehow do both at the same time,?? Ken and Ellen thank you so much, I defy anyone to point out a more Beautiful Commercial District than we have in our Hometown. Fernandina Beach “ROCKS”
A huge thanks should also be given to Deborah Watford. Since the inception of Flowering Fernandina, she’s donated hundreds (probably thousands by now) gallons of the water used to fill the giant container seen in the first two photos.