Staff and volunteers of Main Street Wellington recently gathered at the Wellington Public Works Department, 641 W. Herrick Ave., for the organization’s main flower planting event of the year.

The Main Street Wellington Design Committee is responsible beautifying the small town through projects like planting flower arrangements in planters and hanging baskets, according to Shannon Meeks, board president of Main Street Wellington and founder of Wellington Arts.

The group planted 35 different planters, supplied from Hooks Greenhouse in Wellington, around Wellington.

“We do handle the planning and we do pick out the flowers, our design committee will get together to decide what type of flower and color,” Meeks said. “We work with Hooks closely in getting that; they have it all organized for us.”

Each year, the theme of flowers planted goes back and forth between a red, white and blue, according to Jenny Arntz, Main Street Wellington executive director.

The color theme is the choice of the Design Committee, Arntz said,

All planters have a mix of red, white and purple petunias with a large red canna in the middle, and each hanging basket around town has the same mix and theme, she said.

“We always try to have a canna just because it gives it some height,” Arntz said. “The red one, a lot of people think looks like a firework or a rocket, so it’s just kind of tradition.”

The organizers and volunteers started planting the boxes around 2018, as opposed to the staff at Hooks assembling them, she said.

The village of Wellington is responsible for transporting the planters to their spots, as well as the upkeep all season, Arntz said

“I said it’ll be a good community building event,” she said. “We’ll get our volunteers together, however few, and do this.

“It brought people together, it brought people who loved gardens out, and it makes you feel good when you go through town and you’re like, I helped plant this.”

Main Street Wellington also operates the “Adopt-A-Pot” program as a fundraiser where individuals or businesses can sponsor a planter and even have the option to dedicate it to a loved one in memoriam, for a special event or more, Arntz said.

A metal plaque with the special message or business logo is placed in the center of the pot, and the same sponsors can have the chance to decorate the pot in the fall with the Fall Flowerpot Decorating Contest.

“It kind of gives businesses another opportunity to advertise and it makes it fun,” Meeks said. “You get to see all the different designs.

“Our main goal is to make sure downtown Wellington is thriving. I think it helps in bringing our mission together by making that connection with the community.”

Main Street Wellington is in charge of 24 events year-round and all major holiday events, Meeks said.

The community and volunteers help keep the organization running, she said.

“Our main mission is to bring these community members together, have that energy and come back to life and know that they can be involved and make a change,” Meeks said. “It’s just bringing the community together.”

To see upcoming Main Street Wellington events for the season or Adopt-A-Pot information, visit mainstreetwellington.org.

Source: morningjournal.com