SUMNER — The Plantation Garden Club dedicated the Sumner-Bailey Garden Wednesday, May 10.
Judith Mitchener spoke first to dedicate the garden. A lifelong friend, and having firsthand guidance from the late Bob Bailey, Judith worked tirelessly for several years to ensure his wishes to honor his parents and the legacy of the Sumner name in a lovely way.
A plaque on an interior wall of the new Court Square garden states, “Bob Bailey honors his parents Frances and Robert Bailey and his great-grandfather, Sumner’s founder, Joseph Burton Sumner with this memorial garden.”
It is a fitting tribute for his mother, who had a greenhouse and made corsages for young ladies back when an evening out was a glamorous event.
Rev. David Langdon read a lovely poem and town Alderwoman Pam Fortner spoke on behalf of the mayor and the town’s role in supporting the garden project.
Pink lemonade and cookies were served by Cindy Ellis and Sherry Clark while folks gathered under the shade sails and sat around patio tables and chairs donated for our enjoyment.
After the festivities, the garden club members met at Libby Whitten’s home to tour her backyard. With the original landscape architecture design layout on hand, it was a marvel how close to the original design the yard has remained all these many years — a tribute to a solid foundation in planning and a hard-working homeowner who has had her hands in every pot of dirt in the Sumner-Bailey Garden.
Information for this article was provided by Amy Clark.
