Rehoboth in Bloom undertaking largest project to date
Formed four years ago, Rehoboth in Bloom has done a number of plant-friendly projects around town, including the installation and upkeep of dozens of planters around Rehoboth Beach’s commercial district.
Now, the volunteer gardeners for this Rehoboth Beach Main Street program are taking on their biggest project to date with the planting and cleaning up of the lawn on the south side of the Rehoboth Beach Museum on Rehoboth Avenue. Rehoboth Beach Main Street is located in the one-story building to the north of the museum.
There was nothing welcoming visitors to the city, and this project will do just that when it’s completed, said Rehoboth in Bloom volunteer Cindy Lovett. The project has been in the works for roughly a year and a half, she said.
RBMS board member Richard Byrne introduced the project during a commissioner meeting in September. He was there to get the blessing of the commissioners because the project area is owned by the city. The commissioners gave their blessing.
Rehoboth in Bloom volunteers began working on the project Nov. 16, with a crew from RSC Landscaping showing up Nov. 17 to remove the top layer of dirt and soil. Lovett said the next step is for the area to be backfilled soon, with a few plants and decorative pilings being added. That will be the last work done for a while, she said.
Come spring, the Rehoboth in Bloom volunteers will get to work, said Lovett. There will be lots of color from annuals and perennials, she said.
Lovett provided a list of expected plantings – shrubs include holly drops of gold, winterberry, blue kazoo spirea, and little lime punch hydrangea; annuals include purple alyssum, vinca flower, electric orange sunpatiens, yellow snapdragons and celosia; perennials include blue catmint purrsian, a mix of heuchera, heliot coreopsis and blue everblooming geraniums. There will also be three trees, she said.
The funding for the garden came from Sen. Ernie Lopez, who used a portion of his Community Transportation Funds, and Dogfish Head co-founder Mariah Calagione, said Lovett. RSC Landscaping’s Mark Voelkel is the project manager, she said.
For more information on Rehoboth in Bloom, go to downtownrb.com/bloom, call 302-227-2772 or email dan@downtownrb.com.
