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The garden outside the American Legion Post 41 at 2608 Main St. in Loris is not only pleasing to the eyes, but pleasing to butterflies.

It's dedicated to Thelma Suggs, one of 15 charter members and the first president of the group when it formed in 1952 with a goal of beautifying Loris.

And the Thelmas Suggs Memorial Butterfly Garden at the Blue Star Memorial is looking better than ever after being restored this spring by the club, which is 73 years old and still going strong with about 20 active members.

The club built a brick flower box and an irrigation system, and electrified the site.

They also installed a memorial to Suggs, and planted 15 red and white crepe myrtle trees augmented by blue plumbago plants to give it a red, white and blue patriotic look and feel. Those same bright colors attract butterflies, garden club reporter Ruth Ann Jones explained.

The club even had a restoration expert refresh the Blue Star Memorial, a heavy metal marker used by garden clubs across the nation to honor veterans and veterans organizations.

It reads simply: "A tribute to the Armed Forces that have defended the United States of America."

City and legion officials, garden club members and Thelma Suggs' children John R. Suggs Jr. and Babbs Suggs Fowler, gathered for a brief ceremony to dedicate the flower garden and memorial on May 4.

鈥淭hey redid the whole garden club area. It鈥檚 freshly planted with garden plants and shrubs, and it looks great,鈥� said Wayne Southworth, commander of Post 41.

鈥淭hey are definitely an asset for the city,鈥� said Mike Suggs, the mayor of Loris, which granted the land for the Legion Post to the veterans鈥� group in 1942.

Jones said the butterfly garden is just one of the ways that the club fulfills its goal of keeping Loris beautiful.

Their next big project will be refurbishing the garden in the mini park where Walnut and Main streets meet on Highway 9 Business.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not just a social club. We work hard,鈥� Jones said.

For example, during National Garden Week June 1-7 the group gathered on Monday, June 2, to create floral arrangements to distribute to civic buildings in the city, including the hospital, city hall, the library, the public safety building and the nursing home. Roses, daisies, hydrangeas and day lilies were part of the mix.

But it鈥檚 not all work and no play. On Tuesday, June 3, the club took a field trip to Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet for a guided tour by a master gardener.

And on Wednesday they got to work on that mini park, cleaning and refilling the bird bath, cleaning the bench and planning improvements to include redesigning the area and making it 鈥渕ore visitor-friendly,鈥� Jones reported. It will continue to feature bird houses and bird feeders to attract birds.