Deering Ave Planters are back and blooming

The Deering Ave planters are back and blooming, even better than last year! Thank you to the Planter Team - Vonnett Seeger, Jason Aucoin, and Lisa Weldon for working out all the details and making it happen. They received over $750 of live plants from three local nurseries - Allen, Sterling and Lothrop, Skillins and O’Donal’s. Also generous were some of the farmers at the Portland Farmer’s Market - Snell Family Farm, Goranson’s Farm, Meadowood Farm and Maple Spring Farm. A special thanks to Bill Kennie at AS&L whose enthusiasm for the project was as great as ours. And thank you to the anonymous donors who gave us cash to fill in the gaps for what was needed.

Plants need loving care throughout the summer, so we are building up our watering team. Thanks to Dunkin Donuts for letting us access their water, and coming soon, thanks to Allagash Brewing who donated 2 wine barrels that we’ll transform into rain barrels. If you think you can help with watering this summer, please contact Vonnett by email.

Finally, we hope you notice that 4 of the planters are filled with edibles. There is movement around the globe to transform landscapes into edible landscapes. The Planter team was inspired by the TED talk by Pam Warhurst who transformed her community into edible landscapes, showing that we can produce food as well as beauty in our urban centers. So look for the planters that have tomatoes, kale, pineapple sage, parsley and basil and feel free to help yourself as the plants mature.