Eastside Elementary School in Senoia can anticipate a paradise come spring when the blooms and blossoms planted by the Old Town Sharpsburg Garden Club make their first appearance.

Project chairman Juanita Hasty appeared before the Senoia City Council Monday to request money for the remaining materials needed to complete the "Eastside Beautification Project." Mayor Joan Trammell agreed to look for partial funding from the city budget.

Meanwhile, volunteers are needed for a work day to get the project started this Saturday, Hasty said.

She said Eastside principle Nancy Tinsley asked the club earlier this summer if they could do something with an eroding bank on the front of the school property.

According to Hasty, the club formed a committee and came up with a plan that features a cross tie retaining wall, an island, a rock garden, all adorned with flowers and shrubs such as crepe myrtle, yucca trees, spring blooms and forsythia.

So far, the club has received $1,800 for plants from the Coweta County Board of Education, plus $1,000 to cover materials for the retaining wall, gravel and fill dirt.

"Everyone has been so wonderful and generous to help and donate," Hasty said.

The remaining needs of the club to finish the project are a sprinkler system to irrigate the gardens and a backhoe, "which is the first step" needed to get started. Estimates on the sprinkler systems range from $1,200 to $1,500. The club has sent out flyers to the school requesting $1donation from each child.

In addition to funds, the club is also requesting help from the parents and community to work on the project. The club requests "gophers and grunts" along with planters and plumbers to participate beginning with the first workday scheduled for Sept. 26 at 8 a.m.

"We're just a bunch of little grey-haired ladies," Hasty laughed. "So we knew there was no way we could do this ourselves."

The backhoe, which is needed to complete the retaining wall, should be capable of digging a footing approximately one foot deep by 10 inches wide. The wall will be 100 feet long.

The project is expected to be finished by the end of October. The horticulture class at East Coweta High School also will participate as a community service.