‘Genny Garden’ gives heart to Thorndale Park
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A heart-shaped design using several hundred geraniums, petunias and alyssums has been created this year for the public flower
garden at Thorndale Park.
This is the second year the Westside group called the Family and Friends of Genny have planted flowers in the Thorndale plot (at the corner of Uintah and 23rd streets) for the city's volunteer Springs in Bloom program. “We asked for our own design, and the city approved it,” said Lee Gray. The design, in which red geraniums outline the heart, was designed by her daughter, Karen Sucharski. The heart, as well as the gardening effort, are in memory of Sucharski's daughter, Genny, who died in an auto accident on her way back from her freshman year of college five years ago. Last year, the group paid for the flowers themselves - as did all the 100-some public garden adopters in Springs in Bloom. This year, with more money available in the city budget, City Forestry is providing the flowers for all the plots, as long as its designs are used. The city design for Thorndale was attractive but had no particular theme, Sucharski pointed out. The heart design uses city- provided geraniums and petunias, but didn't work with the other flower type the city had in mind. The Family and Friends bought the alyssums themselves. In addition, “we still had to buy fertilizer and do the rototilling, but we didn't mind,” Gray said. “At least they (the city) are letting us do it.” Sucharski added that she recently heard about a fatal incident involving a young person in the Thorndale area sometime in the past two years. Although she does not know the details, she has added some yellow flowers (chiefly daisies) to show support for the family. Westside Pioneer article |