A daffodil garden soon to be planted at River Park will bloom each year as a memorial to the many children who died during the Holocaust.
The Ellijay garden will be among more than 100 Daffodil Project sites in Georgia.
“The whole symbolism of the Daffodil Project is, no matter how hard and cold the winter has been, the daffodils come back in the spring so all is not lost,” said Mike Weinroth, a representative for the Atlanta-based nonprofit.
Bulbs will be planted inside the lower loop of the park’s walking path, just past the “Noah’s Parc” (sic) playground. Most of the bulb planting will be done by Gilmer County Master Gardeners.
Weinroth said the Master Gardeners, as well as the county commissioners and parks and rec. department, have all been supportive of this project.
“They’ve been so kind. (Commission chairman) Charlie Paris has been nothing but supportive, and it’s been a pleasure working with all of them,” he added.
The public is invited to attend a bulb planting and dedication ceremony at the park on South Main Street starting at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7.
That date, National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, is significant to the Daffodil Project’s purpose. An Atlanta World War II veteran, who was one of the soldiers who liberated the Dachau concentration camp in 1945, will speak at the ceremony, said Weinroth.
“Since it’s on Dec. 7, I’m going to tie it into the U.S. entering World War II. If the U.S. hadn’t gotten involved, I don’t know how much more catastrophic it could have been,” he added.
“About 900 bulbs will be pre-planted by the Master Gardeners and volunteers from some of the organizations in Ellijay. People at the event will also have an opportunity to plant daffodil bulbs in memory of a child (who died during the Holocaust), so they are not forgotten,” Weinroth said.
To date, 758,000 daffodil bulbs have been planted in more than 370 locations, according to the Daffodil Project website.
The organization’s goal is to reach 1.5 million bulbs planted worldwide in memory of Jewish children killed during the Holocaust and in support of children suffering in modern day humanitarian crises.
The first Daffodil Project garden was planted in Atlanta in 2010. The one at River Park will be the first in Ellijay and the seventh along the Highway 515 corridor, said Weinroth. Ellijay’s Harrison Park had also been explored as a possible garden site before the plans were made at River Park.
“We’re calling (the sites along Highway 515) Foothills of Remembrance. Starting in Jasper, every major city through Hiawassee will have these beautiful daffodil gardens,” Weinroth said. “We’ve gotten some nurseries to help us, and they’ve put together a beautiful plan for the garden. There’s also going to be some other foliage (that) will beautify the park even when the daffodils have gone down.”
Tammy McClure, of Gilmer Parks and Rec., said the garden will measure about 33 feet and might be followed by more flower plantings at the lower end of the park.
“We want to eventually put them throughout that whole (loop) area,” she added.