Popular Flower Types

There are a lot of flower varieties out there. It can be hard to choose which ones are the best for your garden.

To help you out, we’ve rounded up some of the most popular flower types that are perfect for any gardener. From cottage garden flowers to classic favorites, these blooms are sure to be a hit with your friends and family.

Courtesy Photo Flats of flowers await planting at Culligan Plaza in downtown Alpena in this photo provided by the Alpena Downtown Development Authority.

ALPENA — The city is about to get pretty.

The Alpena Downtown Development Authority and a newly formed city gardening group need the help of volunteers to plant flowers and assist with cleaning up the downtown and city gardens.

A flower planting and cleanup day is planned from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 20.

Community members are invited to come help plant flowers around the tree bases downtown, rake out flower beds, and help get gardens throughout the city ready for the upcoming summer season. Volunteers should meet at Culligan Plaza, on the corner of 2nd Avenue and Chisholm Street, where they will be given directions and flowers to plant.

The flowers to be planted downtown have been purchased through the generous donations of nearly 50 individuals and business owners. Volunteers are welcome to come for the whole event or just for part of it.

This year, volunteers can also learn more about adopting gardens in the City of Alpena with the help of a local group of volunteers committed to tending to the gardens throughout Alpena. With representatives from the City of Alpena, Huron Pines, Alpena Garden Club, Pied Piper School, and the Alpena DDA, the group is looking for volunteers to adopt gardens throughout the city.

During the May 20 event, volunteers will learn more about which gardens are able to be adopted. Then volunteers can tend to those gardens during the event if they choose, in addition to the downtown planting.

“We are excited to form this new partnership to show the gardens throughout the downtown and throughout the city some care,” said BJ Sander, one of the leaders of the new group. She is also the president of the Alpena Garden Club. “Gardens, whether they be downtown, in a park, or in other highly visible areas, are the first thing people notice when they visit Alpena, and brighten our community. Our new group, the Friends of Alpena Area Gardens, is looking for volunteers to get them ready for the upcoming summer season.”

Shannon Smolinski is the engineering assistant and the harbormaster with the City of Alpena, and a part of the new group.

“The long-term strategic plan says that we want to beautify the city,” she said. “And make the city a better place to live.”

So Smolinski and Sander connected and decided to collaborate to form a community-wide project to sustain the city gardens and beautify Alpena.

Sander and another Alpena Garden Club member, Linda Baker, are master gardeners, available to help those who may not have much gardening experience.

Individuals, service clubs, church groups, youth groups, businesses, and anyone interested is encouraged to participate in this beautification initiative.

“Shannon and I are willing to go out and do presentations to service clubs and churches,” Sander offered, to garner more interest in the project.

Smolinski added that this would also be a great opportunity for young people to get their community service hours.

“It’s kind of a win-win,” she said. “They get their community service hours, and we get them in touch with their community and things they can do for their community.”

There are about 18 city gardens, and so far, only four have been adopted, Smolinski said.

“We are looking for somebody just to go out there and spend some time in those gardens,” she said. “Some of them have been neglected for years.”

All the flowers, mulch, and other supplies would be provided by the city. Volunteers would just need to bring their own gloves and tools.

Volunteers should meet at Culligan Plaza during the May 20 event and are welcome to bring their own garden gloves or trowels.

For more information on the May 20 event, please contact the DDA office at 989-356-6422.

To adopt a city garden, contact Sander at 989-356-3585 or Smolinski at shannons@alpena.mi.us.

Source: thealpenanews.com