Starting officially with the Yorkton Business Improvement District (YBID), in the spring of 2005, the nearly 300 flower pots and the related Beautification Project came to be.
Laurie Renton, Barry Sharpe, and a few others actually started the project with an idea over coffee one morning, thinking how nice it would be to have flowers down the streets and beautify the downtown area.
Working with Young’s Plant World and the Prairie Harvest Employment Program as the Downtown Business Association and then with the YBID, they were able to secure funding and the larger scale project was born.
Each Spring, Young’s gets busy planting the pots in a separate dedicated greenhouse just for YBID pots.
“Donna and her crew from Young’s, plant, grow and care for the pots during the spring, and come June the pots with their beautiful plants are ready to be distributed within the District,” said YBID Executive Director Donna Brothwell, in a release.
Once the pots are ready to go, co-ordination with Young’s and Prairie Harvest Employment gets underway.
“PHE staff come with trailers or a cube van, load one by one and drop off the pots in dedicated areas that enhance and beautify our business locations and the entire district,” said Brothwell. “There are some changes each year on location but we try to keep it fair.”
“Once the pots are in place the care is taken over by the PHE staff and they keep them watered and fresh-looking all summer.
“Several businesses help with watering and caring for the pots closest to them and we appreciate all the help.”
The pots grow and bloom throughout the season and are kept out as long as possible - weather permitting.
PHE staff then bring the pots back to Young’s for storage and replanting next Spring.
“Each year, YBID sets aside $40,000 for this amazing project that includes the services required for maintenance,” explained Brothwell.
As the pots are wooden barrels, there was some deterioration over the years, and in early 2021 YBID applied for grant funding to replace the pots to keep the program up to the nearly 300 utilized yearly.
“YBID was proud to receive a grant from the Painted Hand Community Development Corporation of $5000 for 40 new pots which you will notice on the west end of Broadway as they are black,” said Brothwell. “YBID wishes to acknowledge Painted Hand Community Development Corporation and their gracious grant and you can check out their logo on each new pot.”
Brothwell said the pot program has been a popular one.
“Each year we get tons of calls about the pots from others, not in the district, wondering how to get a pot for their front,” she said. “We encourage anyone interested in their own pot(s) to get a hold of Young’s Plant World and make arrangements as this project is specifically for the district. It is one of the advantages of being in the district.”
This year the plants in the pots are Cana lily’s (Centre stem), Petunias, Begonias, and Sunflowers fill in the main body of the barrels.
More information is at www.yorktonbid.com or call 306.783.9243.
