With warmer weather right around the corner, efforts are beginning to bring a sense of normalcy to downtown Marshalltown. The flower baskets, which hang on the poles on Main Street, will return in June after a year-long absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Travis Hornberg, who chairs a design committee affiliated with the Marshalltown Central Business District and helped replace the trash receptacles on Main Street, said the flower baskets are a true sign things are returning to normal.
“It means people are getting out and doing things again,” he said.
The flower baskets do require maintenance, and a group of people to carry that maintenance out every day. The baskets were canceled in 2020 because the committee did not want a group of people gathered together for a length of time to take care of the plants.
“People said they really missed the baskets,” Hornberg said. “Everyone has been stuck inside and are thinking about spring and going downtown. People love downtown. They can relax.”
Making a point to keep business in town, the committee opted to get the flowers, which will be petunias, from Isle of Green.
The petunias, Hornberg said, are very finicky and need watering every day. So, the committee is looking for groups of volunteers to take care of watering for one week. By having each group take a week, that will not overwhelm anyone. Hornberg said it takes about 45 minutes every morning to water all 96 baskets. There will be plenty of weeks to choose from, as the baskets will return at the beginning of June, remain until Oktemberfest in September, and will stretch from Third Street to Third Avenue on Main Street.
“We are looking for volunteers who want to get out and enjoy the weather every morning and be a part of their community,” Hornberg said.
People can sign up by messaging the Marshalltown Community Business District on Facebook.
“We want to get back to basics with new trash cans, flowers. It’s what people want,” he said. “We can bring people together to make this happen.”
Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.
The Link LonkMarch 15, 2021 at 12:03PM
https://www.timesrepublican.com/news/todays-news/2021/03/flower-baskets-to-return-downtown/
Flower baskets to return downtown | News, Sports, Jobs - Marshalltown Times Republican
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