Lewes in Bloom gardens ready for sparkling summer

With Lewes in Bloom’s spring planting season complete, residents and visitors will see flowers beginning to blossom throughout town.

As soon as the 30,000 free tulip bulbs were dug up by eager community members, more than 100 gardening enthusiasts started watering and planting the 8,000 plants prepared for LIB by local and regional growers. In less than an hour, the tulip bulbs were gone and the May planting could begin.

Many LIB members venture out early in the morning to plant, weed, deadhead and prune. Each individual garden has a team of patrons who maintain it, and they take special pride in their assigned plots.

Visitors to Lewes parks and gardens will find more than 200 varieties of annuals and summer bulbs. QR codes are placed in each LIB garden, making it easy to identify any plants onlookers may not recognize.

Many of the gardens are planted with varieties of canna, a tropical American plant selected as the Lewes in Bloom Flower of the Year. The mostly dwarf varieties planted in LIB gardens may bear pink, orange, rose or red blossoms, complemented by dark-green or striped foliage.

An all-white garden is a new addition this year, with 20 varieties of white plants enhancing the slope leading up to the drawbridge from 1812 Park on Front Street.

The Allee Walkway at the Lewes library features 80 varieties of plants, most in large containers. Benches line the walkway, making it an ideal spot for contemplation or a leisurely stroll.

Although spring is the season when LIB activities are most visible, planning the gardens and ordering the plants is an almost year-round job directed by horticulturists Warren Golde and Bill Adelman, and expert gardener Liz Clements. During every blooming season, the plants in each garden are evaluated by the team of patrons, who suggest changes to the selections and planting schemes, depending on which ones grow best. Over the years, many changes have been made as a result of changing climate conditions.

Lewes in Bloom founder Warren Golde began working with seven Lewes gardening enthusiasts to beautify Second Street 24 years ago. The organization now boasts almost 500 members. Golde said, “LIB has made a real contribution to Sussex County. Back then, there weren’t a lot of flowers in the yards of Lewes homes. Now, many homeowners have taken ideas from our gardens, and their properties are blooming. Most recently, Rehoboth in Bloom and Dewey in Bloom have established volunteer public gardens.”