Shannon Collins memorial garden marks one-year anniversary

Organizers of a memorial garden established in honor of slain Santa Cruz business owner Shannon Collins are celebrating its one-year anniversary.

The company LELO designed and installed a memorial garden at the site of the Walnut Avenue Women’s Center.

They will celebrate the one-year anniversary on Saturday, Oct. 4 by reworking the front area of the garden, planting bulbs for the spring and preparing the garden for upcoming cold weather.

Community members of all ages are invited and encouraged to join. Work will be done between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the garden, located at 303 Walnut Ave. in Santa Cruz. Attendees are asked to bring bags of soil and any small gardening tools they’d like.

Collins, 38, was the co-owner of Camouflage on Pacific Avenue. She was walking along Broadway in Santa Cruz to go to a hairdresser’s appointment in May 2012 when she was attacked and fatally stabbed. The man accused of killing her, Charles Anthony Edwards, has a history of mental illness and prison stints. He’s currently awaiting trial on murder charges.