Dedicated landscape volunteers will be on hand at the Highline Seatac Botanical Gardens (HSGB) – and will put the final touches on some rare plant specimens on Saturday, May 5th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Volunteers have been spending their free time for the last several months providing valuable assistance, utilizing their landscaping and building skills to assist with the upkeep of the historic botanical gardens once owned by Seatac’s beloved Elda Behm.

They have helped cultivate, “cuttings and divisions available from the original Elda Behm Paradise Garden,” said Laura Sweany, Garden Manager for the Botanical Garden.

“What a lot of people do not know is that the garden has been kept up primarily by volunteers and society community members, including the Puget Sound Daylily Club, King County Iris Society, Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden Foundation, Puget Sound Fuchsia Club, and the Seattle Rose Society,”  Sweany added.

These community members, along with several volunteers are hoping to meet their goal to raise funds to improve existing grounds and establish new ones at HSGB.

“It’s nice to be able to help the HSBG with this annual event so that we can maintain the beauty of Elda’s garden and provide an aesthetic retreat for our community,” added Dawn Muscolo, volunteer for HSBG.

The Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden is located just west of the intersection of S. 138th & 24th Ave. S. in SeaTac, and covers 10.5 acres of display gardens, woodlands, and trails reclaimed fron a suburban brownfield.

More information on the Highline SeaTac Botanical Garden can be found at http://www.highlinegarden.org.