Blunt Park taken off ‘Bloom’ adoptee list
After one year as a volunteer garden in the city's Springs in Bloom program, the Blunt Park flower bed will revert this year to
being tended by City Parks employees.
Blunt Park is in the 2300 block of Vermijo Street. As recently as last month, the city had been seeking an adopter for its 160- flower-capacity bed, but decided against it after further consideration, according to Annelle Marshall, the city's horticulturist. “We're just going to put in perennials and not adopt it out,” she said. “Last year we had a lot of trouble watering it because there is no irrigation system in the bed. A commitment from volunteers to hand-water a city flower bed is more than we can ask.” The city will probably plant flowers at Blunt in early May. “There will be perennials with some annuals for color,” Marshall said. A city water truck will periodically come by to handle the watering during the summer, she added. Last year, the volunteer planting and tending of Blunt's flower bed were handled by Girl Scout Troop 95 of Security, but the troop did not express interest in coming back. The Westside's only remaining Springs in Bloom flower bed is at Thorndale Park. It has been adopted for a second straight year by a Westside group under the name Family and Friends of Genny. Springs in Bloom started up after city budget cutbacks prevented City Parks from continuing its tradition of planting flowers in public beds throughout the city. This year the city will help adoptees by providing the flowers. Westside Pioneer article |