Lisa,
Sounds like a great idea to me. I would bring plants.
Teresa

You know I would donate plants. Where would we do this? Any thoughts?

Thanks, Teresa!
And Doris, I was thinking about that place in Bellevue where the Eastside swaps have been held----it was off of 148th, I think. Or maybe a better idea is in the community where LeeAnna lived...Someplace public rather than private, and with lots of visibility.
If we gather plants all summer, we should have a pretty good selection by July or August. How does that sound, tentatively?

Actually, I was thinking we could raise more money if we held the sale in late spring. People seem more hungry for plants then. But I am open to any time that we decide on.

I agree, Doris, I think more people are looking for plants early.

I don't know where a good place to have it would be. Perhaps we could do it close to another event. Like, for example, the Vasa Park bazaar. I'm not sure when that is held, but it draws alot of people. If we did it close to LeAnnas community it would be a way for friends and family to honor her as well.

I didn't really know her, but I really want to do something to help.
Teresa

Sure I would like to pitch in too by bringing plants.
Sangeeta

Thank you Sangeeta, and I agree, more people would be plant shopping in spring than summer----but can we raise enough donations by then?
I like the idea of a late spring date. Early May? Late April?
I'm itching to get out there and start dividing. I can have quite a few things potted up by May.
Any others care to chime in?
~Lisa

I'm thinking mid May. I think we could pull it off. As long as it's not held on the first weekend in May, I can contribute my time to the sale. And lots of plants.

Sounds good to me. I can start to pot things up now and plan for some seedlings (like tomatoes)for the sale as well.
Teresa

You know, one thing I discovered is that gardeners are generally hungry folks.
I was thinking along the lines of of baked goodies - quick breads, cookies, muffins etc., for sale. I can bake a bunch of stuff and bring those along some plants too.

My heart just goes out to this babe who will never know her mum.

-Shilpa

We might not be in town in May, but would still like to donate some plants. Perhaps we could bring them to someone who is going to be there.

I think this is a great idea.

jb

Count me in. Very worthy cause. Food (baked goods) is a great idea.

Maybe wait awhile and then contact her family about the idea. Maybe they have a place that is part of their community of people who knew her and them. They would surely spread the word, and will appreciate this gesture.

Thanks for the input and great ideas, guys...
Mid-May works fine for me too.
I'll start potting things up this week.

Count me in....great idea!

I know it's not the best time for some of you, but we might have great success with this if we time it just before Mother's Day. Buying flowers/plants for Mother's Day brings out a large number of shoppers at that time...ready to spend. And the loss of little Madeline Rose's mother makes the timing quite appropriate.

With Washington Mutual Bank's involvement in the memorial fund, I'll bet we could find a branch that would let us use their parking lot...many of them are in highly visible locations. They'd probably also promote the plant sale...possibly on a wider scale than at just the one branch where the sale takes place. I have a contact at WAMU that may be helpful.

I'd be happy to offer some creative skills...I've worked as a floral designer and have a few ideas that would dress up our "products" and add appeal to both the buyers and the mothers who'd receive our plants. One possibility...a small bow for each purchase that is made with a white ribbon in memory of LeAnna and a narrow baby pink ribbon representing baby Madeline Rose. We could print gift tags that identify the plants on one side and briefly explain that the procedes from the plant sale will go to Madeline Rose who lost her Mama at such an early age. Both the "gifters" and "giftees" would feel good about the special nature of the Mother's Day gift. Just quick ideas off the top of my head...food for thought, etc.

Patrick

What excellent ideas, Patrick!

I'm not sure that WAMU would be willing to let us use a parking lot for the sale, but, I'll bet they'd let us display some kind of poster/card about the sale and benefit as the date approaches, since they are the ones handling the memorial fund. That would be a great source of advertising.

We could also let Edmonds Community College know about this. They could make announcements in the Hort classes to spread the word, and we'd get lots of hort heads at the sale (I know they can't resist plant sales)

What an outstanding idea, Lisa. Please count me in.

I would be honored to contribute generously to this event, much as LeeAnna contributed generously to my gardens over the years. I was so shocked and saddened to hear of her untimely passing and grieve for her family, particularly young Madeline.

Cathy in Olympia

Maybe we can get a couple of people to head this up? I'll be happy to play a supportive role & have prepared a couple of rough-draft Word documents that could be used as "seed material" for creating gift tags and for requesting space to hold the benefit plant sale from WAMU or other community-oriented commercial concerns.

IMHO, the 3-4 days prior to Mother's Day will be the hottest opportunity for good sales. Should the sale site be available only on Sundays, then I'd propose the Sunday before Mother's Day.

If we don't feel a need to focus on Mother's Day, any weekend in May would probably work.

Patrick

I'd be happy to bake something and bring in some plants. Let me know when and where.

Suze

Thank you Suze, Cathy, Patrick, Eric, jb, Shilpa, EVERYONE who is rallying behind this idea...
and Eric, I welcome the creative help and organizational skills in planning this thing, because I'm lacking in both areas! :o)
The baked goods idea is a winner---if GW potlucks are any example, there will be an amazing assortment of treats for the sale.
~Lisa

Hi Sedum Gal:

I wouldn't be the right person to help organize this, but once it's organized I will bring plants and enthusiasm. I am also passing the info along to other garden friends.

Thanks,
ERIC
in W. Seattle

Dear Lisa,

Just a question to clarify: what is our fundraising goal?

If we had a really huge plant sale, it could earn $2,000. We are talking about $4/gallon pot X 500 plants.

If our goal is to express sympathy to LeeAnna's family, then the money is less important. An offering and cards are more appreciated.

It sure is a good idea. How long can we fly under the the GW radar with Spike if we mention "sale"?

What if we have a donation box to collect cards and $$ for the family. We could pass the hat at all the area swaps: Green Elephant, Brinon, etc. for the next year?

If we had a brief biography and photo of LeeAnna that would be nice for people who aren't in the GW loop but stumble upon the event. Who could put this together?

Some ideas,

Jim Eichner

I'm sure we could get a nice photo and bio from LeeAnna's family. I'll check into it. And I think our goal should be to raise money. My thought is that LeeAnna's husband and baby need funds as I'm sure her hospital bills, etc, are overwhelming. I think if Spike will be good enough to let us post on this thread in order to organize the event, that would be great. If not, we can take this to private emails.

I'd be glad to help with the organizational end of the sale, and I think it would be good to have a group of us doing it, not just one person. If a few of us share this task, it won't be as daunting. So anyone interested in the organizational end of things (planning the site, handling funds, making posters, setting up tables, etc), please chime in.

Oh, someone mentioned to me yesterday that maybe we could have the sale at Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Seattle, which is where LeeAnna's funeral was held, and was where she attended school as a girl. We could run that idea by her family.

FireVicar, I'm hardly an expert, but I wonder if $4 a gallon is enough for some type plants that will likely be donated. I had my first plant sale last June, and hellebores (named, seeds acquired from a breeder) 15 months from germination, tree peonies 2 yrs old were grabbed off the table at $8 and $10 in 4x5" pots. Delphs, meconopsis, rooted rose cuttings, astrantia, saruma grown from seed the previous year in 4x5" pots all sold for $4 and $5 ea.....I brought very little plant material back home with me, using half what a retail nursery might charge as a rough guideline for things that can be a little harder to find.

Doris, I can help with organization. I have some ideas already. I think we should pick something specific to raise money for, such as Madeline Rose's education or funeral expenses. See what the family thinks.
Teresa

Wow, great ideas.....
Doris, are you comfortable being the liason between us GWers and LeeAnna's family?
And FireVicar, good questions and suggestions. I agree, we should have a monetary goal in mind, with the funds presented to LeeAnna's husband in one sump sum. I like the idea of passing the hat at various GW functions, but I think it's better to give the proceeds to the family all at once, rather than several small 'installments'...just my 2 cents' worth.
And the photo board/bio idea is perfect.
I recently signed on as a vendor at the Poulsbo Farmers' Market, Saturdays starting in May (the day before Mothers' Day is the opening...) so I MAY be incredibly busy that week getting ready. So those willing to steer this committee, or help out in any way, please do. Like I said, I'm not strong in organizational skills...
Thanks!
~Lisa

Hi all,
I would like to help too. I live in Portland, but I can help via email/phone calls in organizing this.

Some suggestions to get started -
We can put a spreadsheet together to list what plants folks are bringing (approximately). We can then figure out the exact logistics - who brings what, how do we group the pots together (shrubs, perennials, annuals, vines, seeds, special-stuff, roses, etc..- figure out price list, assign volunteers to answer questions about plants, how do we tag the pots, etc.

I can make a list of who wants to help, and what tasks each one needs to be responsible for, etc.

We should make a mailing list for people who want to help.
don't want to flood this forum with our emails.

If there is one already, please add me.
thanks,
yasmine

I could supply lots (approximately 100 of 30 different varieties) of dahlia tubers. I checked with cedar grove compost today when I was there and they would very likely donate potting soil. I have a contact number. I checked with home depot a few days ago about getting dissolvable pots. They need a letter to the manager explaining what we want and what it would be for, but it sounded like it wouldn't be a problem. I'm sure that we would need to post that they donated stuff. I don't know about anyone else, but I wouldn't have a problem with that. I would need lots of help transporting and potting them. I figure they could be potted the end of march and covered with plastic to help warm the soil and get them started early. The other thing is, would they all sell? I could be going overboard on this, according to my husband.

We could probably get boxes for plants from a local nursery. I've seen nursery boxes at other charity plant sales.

Does anyone know what the rules are for having a raffle? Perhaps we could get a local nursery to donate something special for a raffle.

That's great, Teresa! My only concern is what your husband already specified. That we might bite off more than we can chew. I love the idea of selling Dahlias.

I'm going to email LeeAnna's family. They may have already seen this thread, but I'll let them know anyway. Now that the weekend is here, I'm available to start doing some planning with you guys.

I'm in too.... The beginning two weeks of May will be pretty busy for me, but if I'm not able to help during the actual day, I can surely donate a lot of plants.

I have a lot of things potted up that I divided last fall, mostly perennials, so they should look really good when they come up this spring. I'm also going to be starting some not-so-common annuals from seed and can easily donate a couple of flats of those.

Great ideas everyone... Any support we can give to LeeAnna's family is a good thing.

Andi

I have heard from LeeAnna's family. Her Dad forwarded some photos of LeeAnna, Mat, and Madeline. I am going to contact their church and see if it would be possible to use their grounds for the plant sale.

Why don't we start an email ring to begin organizing the sale? My email address on GW is current. How about this: If interested in helping to organize, email me, and I'll start hooking us up with group emails to begin the process?

Update: A group of us are organizing a plant sale fundraiser for LeeAnna's daughter and husband. It will be held in May. If anyone is interested in donating plants or in getting info about the sale, please feel free to email me.

Hi there,

I grew up with LeeAnna, however, strangely enough I did not realize`that she was a fellow gardenwebber. I think that the sale is a great idea. I may not have many plants to donate but would love to buy..... I know that the funds would be greatly appreciated by the family. Once we have all the details, please do spread the word to ALL of your gardening friends. This is such a worthy cause.

If I can figure out a way to get them there, I will likely have a couple of extra roma seedlings by then that I would be willing to donate. I'll try and keep an eye on the thread, but could someone e-mail me at gardenwebmarie@yahoo.com and let me know when dates etc have been finalized?

Yes, do please post when the sale is and I will try my best to get there. I work on weekends, so it could be tricky, but I would love to come and help by buying more plants!

Gardeners... and especially GardenWebbers, should stick together.

The LeeAnna Darby Memorial Plant Sale will be held Saturday, May 21st, from 10:00am to approximately 1:00pm at Our Lady Of The Lake Church in Seattle. All proceeds will go to benefit Mat and Madeline. There will be a wide variety of plants and baked goods. Please attend and pass the word to your friends!

Our Lady of the Lake Church
8900 35th Ave. NE
Seattle, Wa 98115

And if you have ANY extra plants, ALL would be welcome and appreciated...
If you're on the Kitsap peninsula, you can get them to me here in Poulsbo or Port Townsend, and I'll get them where they need to be.
If you're on the Seattle side, any number of people would be able to transport your donations to the sale.
And please come to the sale on the 21st of May, if you're able. Let's show our support!
~Lisa

Reminder this is one week away. There will be a GREAT selection of plants!
You can copy the below message and make a small flier of it to post and pass around to friends.
Hope to see you all there.

The LeeAnna Darby Memorial PLANT SALE
Saturday, May 21
10 AM to 1 PM
Our Lady of the Lake Church
8900 35th Ave. NE
corner of 35th Ave. NE, & NE 89th St.
in SeattleÂs Wedgwood/ Lake City neighborhood

LeeAnna passed away suddenly, but peacefully in Feb 2005 from complications of a brain tumor at age 32.This sale is sponsored by her gardening friends to benefit her infant daughter and husband. Proceeds to go to The Leon D. Burns FDO Mathew T. Darby account at Washington Mutual Bank.

One of our committee members is receiving a huge donation for this plant sale. Langley Fine Gardens is donating 20 FLATS of gorgeous plants to benefit Matt and Madeline! How many local nurseries do you know who would do that? Please visit this fine nursery when in their area. These are the kind of business people we need in our communities.