Winter Garden Magazine May 2015 | Page 21

WINTER GARDEN PRIDE This past April 11th & 12th, Downtown Winter Garden became decorated with plants and crafts of all kinds for the 15th Annual Spring Fever in the Garden festival. The Winter Garden Magazine is proud to be a media sponsor for this event. The festival is the main fundraising activity for the Bloom & Grow Garden Society of West Orange county Florida. Oakland Nature Preserve, working in the yard at the Christian Service Center in Ocoee, planting trees on Arbor Day, providing and maintaining the Gazebo in Oakland Town Square, planting plants at the Palm Park in Windermere, and contributing plants for the butterfly garden on the West Orange Trail. The proceeds from Spring Fever in the Garden have gone to numerous worthy projects and charities over the 15 years the event has been held. The most ambitious project, the “Path of Life” memorial garden located on the West Orange Trail at Chapin Station, won the National Kellogg Award for civic beautification. It is a winding path composed of engraved memorial bricks surrounded with majestic oaks and a reflecting pond among lush plants. Bricks are available for the public to purchase. Financial support from Bloom & Grow has been awarded to: the Oakland Nature Preserve, Wekiva Summer Environmental Camp for children, landscaping portions of downtown Winter Garden, purchasing bike racks for placement at Winter Garden’s City Hall, helping to finance the streetscapes of Windermere and Ocoee, and giving support to landscaping projects in Montverde. Other landscape beautification projects Bloom & Grow has undertaken include: Habitat Homes for Humanity, maintaining the entrance to Bloom & Grow has contributed to the Winter Garden Community Garden, has given scholarships and monetary support to Wekiva Youth Camp, purchased birch trees for the Jessie Brock Community Center , contributed to the educational programs for students at the Winter Garden Heritage Museum, and contributed to Henry Nehrling Society MAY 2015 | WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE | 21