Ellijay could be the seventh site in communities along Highway 515 to have a Daffodil Project garden.
The Daffodil Project is an Atlanta-based grass-roots initiative in which daffodil bulbs are planted in remembrance of children who died in the Holocaust. According to its website, there are currently over 266 Daffodil Project garden sites in the U.S. More than 100 gardens have been planted in Georgia since 2010.
The planner of several north Georgia daffodil gardens hopes the next one will be planted in Harrison Park.
Atlanta’s Mike Weinroth, a Daffodil Project ambassador, said he’s been involved with establishing six other “Foothills of Remembrance” gardens in Blue Ridge, Blairsville, Young Harris, Hiawassee and Jasper (which has two).
If approved, Ellijay would be the final site in that stretch of seven, he noted.
“That’s why it’s important that I can work with the people in Ellijay to (do) the garden in Harrison Park,” Weinroth said. “Its just such a beautiful park, and I really hope it will happen.”
When the gardens begin, they are planted with daffodil bulbs, which come back each year. The flowers reblooming symbolizes the strength and resilience of the human spirit, according to the project’s website. A long-term goal of the Daffodil Project is to build a worldwide living Holocaust memorial by planting 1.5 million daffodils in memory of the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust and in support of children suffering in modern-day crises.
Each of the Highway 515 gardens has a different theme and layout, Weinroth said.
“As they travel Highway 515 (people can) see one different daffodil garden after another,” he added. “They are different because I don’t mandate what is done in terms of the style. I might come up with a theme for the dedication, but I leave it up to the local (communities) to make decisions about how they want it.”
Weinroth already has a theme in mind for the shaded area of Harrison Park that’s being looked at.
“It’s so beautiful and so different than any of the other spaces,” he said. “There are two enormous trees — an old magnolia and a maple tree. (Since) I always like to come up with a theme for these gardens, I thought about children needing sheltering arms. Those tree branches are like sheltering arms. I think I can work that into something very kind and thoughtful.”
Weinroth said Blue Ridge was the first Daffodil Project site on Highway 515. That garden first opened in 2013 at the city park’s playground. It was recently re-dedicated after improvements were done to the garden, which is now in a different part of the playground.
Weinroth credited Ashley Hoppers, Fannin/Gilmer County UGA extension agent, and the extension office’s Master Gardeners for working to get that project done.
“We had a lot to do to get it finished. It’s not quite done, but we are 90 percent finished there (in Blue Ridge). I’m feeling good about it, and we are ready for a new garden,” he added.
Weinroth said he’s been working closely with the Friends of Harrison Park, as well as the local UGA Master Gardeners and Extension Office to plan for the Ellijay garden.
They are currently in the stages of putting together a detailed site plan to present to the Ellijay City Council. Plans for the daffodil garden will first have to go before the council for approval before any site work can be done.
“When Mike brought the idea to Friends of Harrison Park, we were very supportive of it. We think it’s a great idea for the community,” said Linda Lancaster, of Friends of Harrison Park.
Hoppers said the Gilmer Master Gardeners’ involvement with a daffodil garden here would be similar to how it’s been done at the one in Blue Ridge.
There, the extension agent and Master Gardeners have been involved in the site’s landscape design, as well as planting the daffodil bulbs and providing horticulture education to the public.
“I think we all want the garden. We’re just working on how it’s going to work for Ellijay, and those conversations are still happening,” Hoppers said. “Ellijay is the missing dot (on Highway 515). As the extension agent, I obviously want that dot to be filled in and Ellijay included in this.”
If the garden is approved, it would be among two seasonal flower displays planned for Harrison Park. A wildflower meadow is also in the works there, said Lancaster.
“They (would be) on opposite sides of the park. The daffodil garden would be along McCutchen Street on the side of the park with the barn, and the wildflower meadow is on the opposite side along the river. The wildflowers will be blooming spring through fall, and the daffodils would probably be the first ones to bloom, starting out the process,” she added.
Weinroth said there’s time to plan since bulb planting season has passed for the current year. He hopes daffodil bulbs can go in the ground in time to emerge next year.
“If the garden is created in Ellijay, maybe (plant) next November,” he said.