Garden Bench | 8/29 Peach Buzz: Marietta Couple Bestows A Green Gift To The Community
By Jennifer Brett
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There are no celebrities in this story, but there are two stars. Jim and Jo Anne Taylor are the kinds of folks you know from church or your grandkids’ school. He’s an executive at a construction firm; she’s a retired school nurse. And they are quiet philanthropists, whose gift comes wrapped in the shade of dogwoods and the flutter of butterfly wings. “It’s an opportunity for us to do something for our community,” Jim Taylor said of the pocket park he and Jo Anne have created in their Marietta neighborhood.
A dilapidated rental house sat on the property facing their house 11 years ago. When a for-sale sign appeared four years ago, the Taylors acted fast and snapped it up. They could have renovated and sold the house, or knocked it down and built another home (or two) to sell. Instead, they worked with Lost Mountain Nursery owner Teena Barnes to create a sun-dappled Eden that they share with whomever stops by.
“They’re neat people,” Barnes said. “They could have sold the land for money, they could have done anything they wanted. This speaks very highly of the kind of people they are.” Taylor Park, which is irrigated by well water, features a pea-gravel path lined with shade-loving varieties and a bright grassy patch ringed by Knock Out roses, columbines, zinnias, cosmos and other blooms that love the sun.
A wooden gazebo, a garden bench and whimsical pieces of yard art lend a sense of structure. “Jim said ‘just don’t let it get tacky,’ ” chuckled Jo Anne, the collector in the family. The
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