Gardener of the Year

Gardener of the Year, Andrea Mull, works at Opal Park.

The Cottage Grove Garden Club is pleased to announce that member Andrea Mull was selected as the “Gardener of the Year” by the Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs at its annual state convention in June.

The club nominated Andrea for this award for two reasons.

First, because of her work and leadership during the critical infancy stages of the Cottage Grove Garden Club. As a charter member of the Club, Andrea quickly volunteered to be vice president then went on to serve as president for 3½ years.

2009, our first elected officers. Jen as president, Andrea as vice president,
Claire as treasurer, and Suzanne as secretary.

Andrea's leadership in the club went beyond her capacity as an elected officer. During the formative years for the garden club, Andrea was the plant sale coordinator for the annual, district-wide plant sale, she volunteered to lead many informative, hands-on programs, she wrote educational pieces for our newsletter, and she was dedicated to promoting the club within the Cottage Grove community.

Claire, Andrea, and Suzanne at Opal Park.

Second, and perhaps her largest role with the garden club and to the city as a whole, has been with the All-America City Square (aka Opal Park).

Early in the spring of 2009, when the club was barely 6 months old, we were approached to take over the planting of the redesigned park. With Andrea’s encouragement, the club looked at this as an opportunity for us to become involved in a high-profile, civic project.

In the beginning, Andrea worked with members Suzanne Keaveny and Claire Dross to plan the plantings and a community-wide planting event held in June, then they maintained the park on a regular basis. Now, Andrea leads the garden club’s involvement with the park. She organizes and leads volunteers in planting spring flowers, pruning and maintenance, keeping the beds mulched and weeded, and replacing plants as necessary. She also acts as our liaison with the city, which owns the park.

Club president Peggy and Andrea working at Opal Park.

In 2011 the club received a Mayoral Certificate of Appreciation for our work at Opal Park and in 2014 the park was honored with the American Institute of Architects People’s Choice Award. Also in 2014, Andrea was interviewed about the park by the Portland gardening show “Garden Time.” The park continues to receive attention, including a recent cameo appearance in a video created by Travel Lane County.

The Cottage Grove Garden Club thanks Andrea for her work these past seven years in developing both the club and the plantings at the redesigned Opal Park.

Andrea being interviewed for Garden Time t.v.