Key West Garden Club

First of all a huge Thank You to all of you who have donated money or your time or both, to help get our hurricane devastated gardens back to their former beauty.

So far we have raised over $5000 in cash plus additional donations of trees and plants from various

nurseries in Florida.

This has enabled us to replant the courtyard with mainly sweet smelling plants, like Ylang Ylang and White Ginger, to make a Fragrance Garden. We have our very own Tropical Orchard, thanks to a generous donation of trees from Hopkins Fruit Nursery. We have replanted the Palm Garden, next to Jay Grogin's jug fountain and planted dozens of neoregelias and bromeliads around the circular pond opposite the wrought iron back gate. The Colonel's Garden at the entrance is now a show of golds and reds and provides a lovely cheerful welcome to all our visitors.

We recently finished planting flowering, largely native trees and wildflowers on the hillside around the waterfall - it will be a bank of color once established. We have also planted ferns and begonias inside the walls around the old chimney and are restocking the

Hibiscus Garden.

None of this would have been possible without the support from all our wonderful Garden Club members and helpers.

Fran & Bill Ford's eldest son, David, has pledged a donation of $25,000 to help the garden get back on it feet. In addition he has pledged up to $25,000 in

additional funds in the form of a matching grant - for every $1 we raise ourselves, David will match it up to $25,000!

We intend to use this money as the basis for a foundation, which will be called The Fran & Bill Ford Foundation in honor of David's parents; both of whom have been and are still such wonderful supporters of the Key West Garden Club, as well as many other environmental concerns in The Keys.

This Foundation should provide the KWGC with sufficient financial security for the future well being of the Club.

However none of this can happen until we change the status of the Key West Garden Club from a 501(C) (4) to a 501(C)(3) - a non-profit organization to which all donations are tax deduct able. Ron Zemlicka, our treasurer, has been working tirelessly to make this happen. All necessary paperwork is now with the IRS. We should learn of our new status in around 90 days.

Please give generously, as every $ you give will be worth twice as much to the Garden Club!

Make Checks payable to The Key West Garden Club and mail to Rosi Ware, 1400 Olivia Street, Key West, FL 33040.

We still have a long way to go.....the top of the hill, around the gazebo, and the Butterfly Garden all need to be replanted from scratch...we hope to have most of this completed by the Summer!

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!

Rosi Ware

President, KWGC

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 This page modified on Friday November 17, 2006.