‘Flower Power’
A total of 22 cast-stone planters will be installed in downtown Delaware during June. These photographs show how similar planters are used in other areas. Main Street Delaware is seeking tax-deductible contributions to support the ‘Flower Power’ program, which will beautify the community year round.
Downtown Delaware is going to pot—flower pots, that is. And Frances Jo Hamilton, executive director of Main Street Delaware, couldn’t be happier.
“We’re replacing our summer flower basket program with ground-level concrete planters that will be maintained year round,” Hamilton says. “We think everyone will be impressed by the impact of the plantings.”
A total of 22 cast-stone planters will be strategically placed throughout the downtown during June. Six of the planters will be 60 inches in diameter and will be placed at the Sandusky Street intersections of Williams Street, Winter Street, and Central Avenue.
The remaining 16 planters will be 36 inches in diameter and will be found throughout the rest of the historic downtown.
The planters, valued at nearly $14,300, are being donated to Main Street Delaware by Oakland Nurseries, which operates in Delaware at 25 Kilbourne Road. Main Street will pay approximately $2,700 to ship the planters and have them placed in their new locations. Main Street also will contract with Oakland Nurseries’ Streetscape Division to create four-seasons designs for the pots to ensure that they provide year-round beauty.
“This is a wonderful collaboration,” Hamilton says. “We’re excited to be working with Oakland Nurseries and hope others will be inspired to contribute time, talent, and funds for ‘Flower Power’ as well.”
The Scotts Company in Marysville will continue to contribute potting soil to Main Street Delaware’s beautification efforts. In addition, a donor who wishes to remain anonymous has offered to provide a water wagon to allow volunteers to water the plantings.
To help fund the project, including adding more planters in future “Flower Power” phases, Main Street Delaware is asking the community to sponsor the program with contributions in $125 increments. The dollar amount represents the annual cost of planting and maintaining one of the previous hanging flower baskets during a single growing season, Hamilton explains.
“We were pleased to oversee the hanging flower basket program, but the logistics of planting, installing, watering, and then removing and storing the basket each year grew difficult to manage,” she says. “But, most of all, the hanging baskets didn’t have as much of a visual impact as we hoped. Bringing the plants and flowers to ground level will really make them stand out.”
To make a tax-deductible contribution to Main Street Delaware’s “Flower Power” program, download a sponsorship form (388k PDF), or contact Hamilton at (740) 362-6050.
“This is the first full year that contributions to our organization have been tax deductible,” says Hamilton, noting that Main Street Delaware earned its 501(c)(3) designation last fall. “We hope this status helps to keep us—and the ‘Flower Power’ program—growing strong.”
Main Street Delaware seeks to preserve and educate people about the historic downtown. In addition to the “Flower Power” program, Main Street Delaware also oversees each month’s First Friday celebration, the Downtown Farmers Markets, and more.