The Garden Club at Palm Coast held their annual Club Arbor Day Memorial Tree Planting Ceremony on May 13 along the St. Joe Walkway in Linear Park off Colbert Lane. This program honors members who passed away the previous year by planting a tree and placing a bronze plaque engraved with their names alongside the tree. However due to COVID, there has not been a ceremony since 2019. This year four members were honored: Angela Ricci (2019), Shirley Stubbendick (2020), Joseph Fontaine and Jane Culpepper (2021).
The city assisted the club with a location and suggested the butterfly garden in Linear Park as Jane Culpepper aided in the planting of the garden in 2012. The city planted a bottlebrush and Japanese blueberry tree on May 10. Club members renovated the original garden and added 25 butterfly and native plants donated by a member of the club.
The ceremony was held Friday, May 13 and members and friends of those being remembered met at the facilities building for the memorial service and afterwards visited the newly planted garden.
Speakers included Denise Garcia, the newly installed 2022-2023 Club president, Robert Tabit (a past president) led the Pledge of Allegiance, Pastor Jack Pladdys (Palm Coast Bible Church) gave the invocation and Palm Coast City Manager Denise Bevan also spoke. Members of the club gave their personal remembrances of those that had passed and refreshments were served after the ceremony.
