By Andrea Walker
The Ashcroft Communities in Bloom group is involved with a number of projects in the community throughout the year, but May is definitely the busiest month. In the past month they have held their annual plant swap, done two projects at Desert Sands Community School and, with the help of several community members, planted geraniums in most of the downtown barrels and planters.
The annual plant swap was once again a big success and saw many local gardeners leave with lots of plants and big smiles on their faces.
Each year, the CiB group does projects with students at DSCS. The Kindergarten/Grade 1 classes of Megan Marlow and Kelly Hendrigan had lots of fun planting sunflower plants and potatoes. For many of the students it was their first time “getting their hands in the dirt”. They each got a small sunflower seedling and planted it in a raised bed at the school. Then they learned about potatoes: how they sprout “eyes” and will grow to make more potatoes. Thank you to Terry and Susan Schalles and their Cactus Country Farm for supplying the corn straw that covered the potatoes.
The CiB group also did a project with Beth Bastedo’s Grade 4/5 class where they re-potted patio tomato plants from a 4-inch pot to a large patio pot. The students learned about tomatoes and then were able to take the potted plants home to care for. Thank you to Desert Hills Ranch for the donation of the brightly-coloured patio pots.
The planters in the downtown area will be lovely to see when all the geraniums begin to bloom. This year the CiB group chose to plant geraniums in orange, pink, and fuchsia colours which will be a very eye-catching feature in our downtown area. CiB members, along with several community volunteers, enjoyed the camaraderie of planting and pride in making our town “bloom.”
Each year, Communities in Bloom plants flowers in 64 barrels and several wooden planters in the downtown area, as well as the raised planters in front of and behind the historic fire hall. We thank the Ashcroft Volunteer Fire Department for going around town a couple of days before we plant and watering all the planters and barrels so the soil is ready for the plants. Once planted, the barrels and planters become the responsibility of the businesses they are in front of. The business owners must then do their part to ensure the planters are watered and cared for throughout the growing season.
It really is a community effort that is well worth it, as it literally makes our town “bloom” and shows our community pride to everyone who visits Ashcroft. Well done everyone!
editorial@accjournal.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
