Chester blooms with donations for planters, boxes

Flower boxes and planters at Chester Town Hall in 2014. Photo provided

It’s time to reactivate spring and summer floral displays around Chester by supporting the planter campaign started last spring by the Chester Beautification Committee.

While this all-volunteer committee has recently changed its name to Chester Townscape to reflect the broader efforts it has undertaken in the restoration project for the Hearse House and Public Tomb, it is the same group of people working to improve and enhance the appearance and appeal of Chester for residents, businesses and visitors.

The new organization, which is now part of the charitable Chester Community Alliance, is soliciting contributions to purchase large containers that will be filled with soil and planted with flowers. These planters will be placed at key locations throughout the town to show that Chester is a thriving and welcoming place to visit, shop and live.

The familiar gray planters will soon grace a variety of very visible public places: the Green walkways, the Whiting Library, the Post Office, the Chester Depot and Depot gazebo and Town Hall, among others. New flower boxes will be created for the bridges leading to town, and more planted barrels will appear at the Pinnacle swimming pool.

Businesses and residents are encouraged to make this project a reality by donating to the public part of the effort and/or by purchasing a planter for their own business or property. The cost of each new, planted container is $85. The cost of replanting a previously purchased planter is $50. However every sponsored pot or contribution to the effort will be appreciated and add to a coordinated look for the town that in 2014 lasted well into the fall.

To order a new, planted container or to order the replanting of a pot purchased last year, please contact
Tory Spater at 802-875-2952 or tory@vermontel.net. She can email the order form. Forms are also available at Misty Valley Books and the Whiting Library. The check for a planter and/or a contribution should be made payable to Chester Community Alliance Inc., marked for Chester Townscape in the memo line, and mailed to Chester Townscape, PO Box 561, Chester, VT 05143. A swift response in donations will help the purchase of pots and plants before the planting takes place on May 27.