Well, progress is happening at the Gladys McCoy Memorial Garden. Kate Thompson, the organizer of the garden restoration, says, “John Barker, the garden designer got the Hardy Plant Society to approve the memorial garden as a 501(c)3 under their umbrella and the society has approved some funds for plantings but we will need more.”

John Barker and Kevin Hughes of SOLVE are meeting with Kate to talk about collaboration on garden planting and clean-up. She says, “John said the first step will be soil prep (lots of digging), then moving in large boulders to symbolize the neighborhoods of Portland, and finally placing the plantings in early fall. Of course, I would like a miracle and have the plants in this spring, but compared to how the site looked less than a year ago, and with all the chaos in the neighborhood, I think we can be very pleased with the improvement.”

NIKE is partnering with SOLV on the clean-up which is planned for Friday, March 19. NIKE has been VERY helpful in keeping the garden picked up. Leonna Hardiway, the manager of the store, has made our garden part of their mission. If you want to participate click here for the link to the SOLVE event.

Check the Eliot Neighborhood website to find out how the clean-up went and watch for an article in the summer issue. If you want to help with the garden, contact Kate Thompson at katethompsonpdx@gmail.com.