To the editor:

Recently, I was surprised to be thanked for planting daffodils at the Waypoint. Credit should be given where credit is due. The Waypoint landscape designer Ann Lovejoy planted the daffodils as well as the entire landscaping with the help of the Bloedel Reserve grounds crew, the Friday Tidy group (known for its gardening at Bainbridge Public Library), and many other volunteers.

As the plaque at the Waypoint describes, the daffodils were planted to honor Mary Sam, Chief Seattle’s granddaughter, a local healer and midwife. What a grand display the Waypoint daffodils were! All should be thanked from those that donated funds to the volunteers that did the plantings.

My daffodil purchases and planting efforts with friends were done on Winslow Way, Madison Avenue, Ericksen Avenue and Ericksen Park. This tradition of volunteer community gardening is a grand one thanks to Ann Lovejoy, Friday Tidy group, Bloedel Reserve crew, Weed Warriors, Student Conservation Corps and the hundreds of Island volunteers. Keeping Bainbridge beautiful is a magnificent and varied community effort.

The silver lining of the original mistaken thanks given to me is that now we have an opportunity to again express our great appreciation, inform Islanders of the many volunteer garden efforts, and inspire others to pitch in. As one of my favorite Lady Bird Johnson quotes says, “Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” Let’s together continue to keep Bainbridge beautiful!

DEBBI LESTER

Bainbridge Island