Contact: Freda Powell, 318-673-7703
April 15, 2009
Shreveport-Bossier, La. - The Friends of the Barnwell and the Fourth District Garden Club will dedicate the Fragrance Garden at the R. S. Barnwell Memorial Garden & Art Center to the memory of Anne Lackey, a life-long advocate and supporter on Saturday, April 18 at 12:30 pm.
The ceremony will take place during the Fourth District Garden Club’s Annual Flower Show, scheduled April 17-19. Ms. Lackey was instrumental in working to establish the Barnwell Center and worked tirelessly from the groundbreaking of the Center until her death in 2008. She remained involved in garden activities for more than forty years ensuring that the Barnwell Center remained true to its original mission of providing horticulture and art events for the citizens of Northwest Louisiana.
Ms. Lackey was instrumental in helping to establish the Fragrance Garden for the visually impaired in 1988. Located on the south end of the Barnwell Center grounds, the garden includes a variety of plants easily identifiable by smell and by touch. A Braille placard lists the common and official name of the plants and you can touch, and even pick a few leaves in order to crush them so that you can experience the full vigor of the plant’s scent and texture.
Anne Lackey maintained this garden and planted flowers there herself so that there would never be neglect. She was an inspiration to many and this befitting gesture will memorialize her so that she will always be remembered for her many years of dedication.
The Mayor of the City of Shreveport will issue a proclamation to the Lackey family to honor her years of service. A plaque purchased by the Fourth District Garden Club will be permanently mounted next to the garden as a gesture of love and appreciation.
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