In advance of a fresh round of late spring plantings, Rehoboth in Bloom volunteers and a few of the city’s strongest staff members replaced the soil in about two dozen of the organization’s 112 sidewalk planters.

Cindy Lovett, Rehoboth in Bloom founder, said the flowers have been struggling the last few years. A soil test done by the University of Delaware showed a shockingly high salt count, she said.

“Our good old ocean is apparently dumping salt in our planters with each east wind, rain and likely snow,” said Lovett.

In response to the new information, Rehoboth in Bloom decided to start a program that will completely replace the soil of the sidewalk planters on a rotating basis. The plan is to do about 30 per year, said Lovett, who credited the city with lending a helping hand.

In advance of the exchange, Lovett said she reached out to the city about the plan because Rehoboth in Bloom volunteers would likely be making a mess on Rehoboth Avenue. As soon as the city found out, they offered to help, she said.

Rehoboth in Bloom figured it was going to have to pay a landscaper a ton of money to get this done, said Lovett.

The morning of the dirt exchange, April 23, public works staff were loading the planters onto a trailer by 7:30 a.m. They took them to the city’s work yard off Lincoln Street. Staff then dumped the boxes so the Rehoboth in Bloom volunteers could add fresh soil. Each planter holds a little more than two bags of soil. Staff put the boxes back on the trailer and returned them to their sidewalk home when the exchange was complete.

Looking forward, all the planters will be filled with pansies in the first couple weeks of May, said Lovett.