Popular hanging flower baskets enter third year

A program to spread color the length of Main Street in Lovell was so successful last year that organizers are hoping for even bigger and better results this year.When the Lovell water and sewer infrastructure and Main Street repair project resulted in the loss of the median strip on Main two years ago, that also meant the loss of the colorful flower planters down the center of Main that Lovell was known for. Even as construction was under way, Town of Lovell Parks Director Gary Emmett was trying to figure out a way to replace the beauty when he hit upon an idea.[caption id="attachment_10914" align="alignright" width="200"] Colorful hanging flower baskets will again adorn Main Street in Lovell this summer, and orders may be placed for sponsorships by calling the Lovell Area Chamber of Commerce at 548-7552.
Courtesy photo[/caption]Emmett had lived in Pocatello, Idaho, a few years earlier and recalled that Pocatello had hanging flower baskets on street lamps in the town’s historic district.“It (the program) had a nice appeal to it,” he recalled Tuesday. “With the planters disappearing down Main Street I wondered what we could do to add some hometown flavor and a splash of color. I drew on my roots (in horticulture) to come up with an idea  of what we could do on Main Street.”In 2014, as the Main Street project advanced, Emmett bought 12 hanging baskets for the town and planted them with flowers to see how they would be received by the public. The baskets were placed on about every other pole in the downtown business district, he said.Emmett received a number of comments that the flowers helped soften the blow of the construction project, he said, adding, “People were happy we were willing to plant flowers among all of the dirt and debris. So we decided to expand the effort and make it a community event.”Emmett worked with then Lovell Area Chamber of Commerce office manager Jackie Heinert to sell hanging flower baskets for $100 each ($275 for a three-year commitment) while the Lovell High School welding and agriculture classes constructed brackets for the baskets to fit the downtown light poles as a class project.The baskets sold like gangbusters.“I had hoped to have a basket on every pole from Pennsylvania to the sugar factory in three to four years, but we achieved that in the first year with community involvement,” Emmett said. “We went from 12 baskets to 72 baskets, one on every pole.”Emmett said he had hoped to see some double baskets but realized he could cover the entire length of Main with single baskets.“We decided to put flowers on every pole on Main Street instead of a double here and there,” he said. “Some individuals and businesses bought two baskets or more. Fourteen individuals bought multiple baskets.”With 72 baskets sold last year, expanding the program this year would mean some double baskets on Main Street, a goal Emmett is willing to strive for.The drive for 2016 is under way, Emmett said, noting that new Chamber office manager Celecia Gallagher will be promoting the program and contacting those who purchased baskets last year, as well as double-checking multi-year commitments.”“There was some concern last year where people wanted to see if it would work, so they bought one year,” Emmett said. “I strongly feel it was a great success. This helps solidify that people do care what Lovell looks like to us as residents and to people driving into town.“It goes with the rose gardens and what the Flower Ladies have done with the corner planters. It shows we care about what Lovell looks like.”Emmett said he loved what the flowers added to Main Street.“It was neat. The best time to see the baskets in their glory was in the early morning before 8,” he said. “The flowers were absolutely stunning.”The flowers are watered daily by the town crew, and once again they will be planted at Greenhouse Gardens with a “variety of hardy petunias,” Emmett said, noting, “We found that some varieties didn’t work in the 95-degree heat and the wind. Some performed better than others. We wanted a mix of colors for the variety and the splash of colors.”If interested in sponsoring a flower basket, call the Lovell Area Chamber of Commerce at 548-7552.

By David Peck