Dewey in Bloom adds color to beach town

Dewey just got a little more colorful with the help of Dewey in Bloom volunteers, who recently came together for a weekend of planting vibrant summer flower arrangements in the bloom boxes along Coastal Highway throughout the town.

“Dewey Beach looks great this spring after the town put so much into upgrades, like sidewalk repairs and the now-attractive median,” said Patrice Gancie, who helped to launch the program. “I’m very happy that Dewey in Bloom is adding to that with our second season of plantings.”

In its second year, the volunteer and donation-based group continues to blossom. Comprising about 40 volunteers on assigned gardening and maintenance teams plus several others who help in various ways, it aims to beautify Dewey Beach by planting flowers and plants in boxes all along the town streets, as is done in Lewes, Rehoboth and other towns across the country.

The planning for this year’s spring planting ritual began long before the actual planting weekend, which took place May 16-18, as the lead gardeners had to order plants, soil and other supplies in advance.

Then, the physical work began May 16, with the group enlisting the help of the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company for a deep watering of all the planters. The next day, the gardening teams removed all of the winter plants and deeply embedded roots from the planters and prepped the soil.

They returned the day after to plant more than 15 varieties of summer plants, including coleus, lantana, lily, verbena and more, which they purchased at a discount from Pepper’s Greenhouse in Milton. The lead gardeners gave teams choices of flats of mixed plants and suggested placement designs, but the teams were free to create their own plantscapes.

While the planters are self-watering, the extreme summer heat requires monitoring watering, so the teams will water very frequently in the first few weeks and then on a regular basis throughout the summer. It’s no easy task, Gancie said, because water sources are not readily available everywhere in town.

Gancie believes the project not only makes Dewey more visually appealing, but also brings folks together in a positive way.

“We’re building pride in our community and friendships among longtime residents and relative newcomers,” she said.

For more information about the group, go to townofdeweybeach.gov/departments/deweyinbloom.