A Garden to Honor Peggy Richardson
I Marypat Warter, principal at Claude Thompson Elementary School with Amy Smith, president of the Piedmont Garden Club, garden club member Andrea Rosse, John Richardson and garden club member Margaret Littleton at the Peggy Richardson Memorial Garden.
By Vicky Moon with Amy Smith, president of the Piedmont Garden Club
n September, 2018, Peggy Richardson and Anne Hazel, members of the Piedmont Garden Club, met with Marypat Warter, principal at Claude Thompson Elementary school near Rectortown. They wanted to discuss a possible garden project and Principal Warter indicated the existing butterfly garden at the school was in need of assistance. The initial proposal focused on the butterfly garden clean-up to weed and manicure the overgrown plants. Then the plants would need to be identified and labeled and, if necessary, additional plants hospitable to various butterflies, particularly Monarchs, would be added to the garden. The school would encourage the curricula in various grades to focus on butterflies and their importance to the environment. The school had, in the past, purchased caterpillars and perhaps part of the project would be to assist with adding additional caterpillars. The school had a number of books in the library concerning butterflies, and perhaps more could be added
"This is exactly what Peggy had in mind."
to the inventory. The school staff and students would be trained to maintain the garden on a continuing basis with the possibility of professional help to work with them. A three-year period would fund the clean-up and additional work needed to get the garden in shape and to fund more plants and the
purchase of caterpillars. In February, 2019, the Piedmont Garden Club approved a total commitment of $2,500 over two years. Peggy Richardson requested funds to implement the initial cleanup phase. The project was delayed during the COVID shutdown followed by her subsequent illness, which delayed completing the rest of the plan. In 2023, newly-elected Piedmont Garden President Amy Smith discovered the unfinished project and obtained club support to fulfill the original commitment to Claude Thompson School in honor of Peggy Richardson, who passed away in September, 2021. With support from Peggy’s husband, John, and club members Margaret Littleton, Andrea Rosse and garden guru Nicole Siess owner of Bittersweet Garden, the project was completed in September, 2023.
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