Daisy Scouts prepare for Mother's Day Erik LeDuc ebearer@ruidosonews.com Posted: 05/03/2012 04:47:10 PM MDT Gregg Russel, still recovering from a systemic surgical infection,... (Erik LeDuc/Ruidoso News) Capitan students invited to pick up free flowers for mom The Girl Scouts of America would not be possible without the tireless support of their mothers, who encourage them when they don't place first, chauffer them to meetings and clean up after them. To show their appreciation, the Daisy Scouts of Pack 85 in Capitan are preparing a greenhouse full of "thank you" flowers for Mother's Day. The idea sprang from two daisies of Pack 85, Jenna and Ella Herbert, who saw a familiar face in a mural - Erin Aubrey Weems, a student several years ahead of them in Capitan schools who had died three years previously. "It's neat that the kids remembered, it's neat that they're doing something with it," said Capitan resident Gregg Russel, owner of the wall the mural was painted on. The girls were visiting Russell while their mother and local nurse, Jessica Herbert, checked on Russel's health after his paralyzing illness. "They came running into the house saying 'Erin (Weems) is on the wall!'" After seeing the girls' interest, Russel said he volunteered the use of his garden for the scouts to Ashley Ivans, troop leader for Pack 85. The scouts will practice growing their own flowers as part of their gardening and community service projects, which will earn them two badges. The flowers, donated by Wal-Mart, will be potted by the scouts on Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Russell's garden, where the girls will add their handprints to the memorial mural. "I'm getting my garden a bit trimmed up, so to thank the girls I'm donating a pizza party," Russel said. While potting and planting in their own corner of the garden the scouts also would learn how to prune grown flowers, he added. Russel also had donated flower seeds for the scouts, who would be growing their own hollyhocks and sunflowers over the summer, Herbert said. "They're going to plant those in remembrance of Erin (Weems)." Afterwards, Daisy Scouts will invite area students to stop by the Smokey Bear Historical Park greenhouse between 11 a.m. and noon May 11 to pick out a free flower for Mother's Day, May 13. The greenhouse is an amazing resource in the village that was being neglected, Russel said. With automated sprinklers, climate control and vented doors, it was perfect for growing beautiful blooms. Wal-Mart had been generous in previous years by donating flowers for Mother's Day in the village, he said. "I had so many flowers donated from (Wal-Mart) that I almost filled (the greenhouse) the first year."