Girls scout out an ideal area for garden project
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

Linsey Bodnar (l-r), 12, Amanda Cipriano, 11, and Elisabeth Martinez, 11, put together a garden for the residents of the Buckingham Place assisted living facility as part of their Bronze Star project in the Junior Girl Scouts.

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - Three Junior Girl Scouts added a little green to Buckingham Place - and a little red, yellow, purple and pink as well.

The girls, Lindsey Bodnar, 12, Amanda Cipriano, 11, and Elisabeth Martinez, 11, all of South Brunswick, worked over the course of several days to plant a new flower garden in front of the assisted living and adult day center. The work was part of the community service component of their Bronze Star award, the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can achieve.

"There was a blank space in the front of the building. We decided to pretty it up and [it would] just be a good community service project for us," said Cipriano, of Kendall Park.

The girls started by talking to the residents about what kinds of flowers they would like to see in their garden as well as what colors. Once they got a list of what kinds of plants they would get, they went to the local Gasko's to pick up snap dragons, sunflowers, annuals and more.

The girls planted and arranged the flowers themselves, carefully placing them to achieve maximum effect. Plants of similar color were grouped together to accentuate the hues. The consensus among all three girls was that handling the hostas was probably the most difficult part of the whole affair due to their size.

The girls had plenty of encouragement from the residents, who kept them company as they worked over the course of several days.

"We had a great time, because they were laughing and they were outside and having a great time with us," said Bodnar.

After all was said and done, the girls opened the garden to residents, presenting them with a photo album of their work, as well as cake and pie. A plaque dedicating the work was also presented.

"My favorite part I would say was probably making the garden and just having the residents there watching and helping us, and I thought it was a very nice thing to do for them because they were really happy and they really enjoyed it," said Martinez.