Flowerpots planned for downtown Weiser in 2025

New pots will be easier to maintain and will be fed by dripline system

Weiser Main Street in partnership with the Weiser Economic Development Committee is bringing color back to downtown Weiser.

 City councilman Sterling Blackwell, who serves as a liaison between the city and the WEDC Task Force, said that nine flowerpots are on order from Andrew’s Seed in Ontario.

 A total of 18 will eventually be placed at various locations around town.

 “They are beautiful concrete pots, so it will help beautify our downtown area and that is something we are looking forward to,” Blackwell said during a Sept. 9 council meeting committee report. “This is not to take away from the beautiful hanging baskets that were done for years.”

 Local businesswoman Linda Roundtree initiated her own effort at beautifying downtown with her hanging flower basket program about 15 years ago. It was a success, but eventually became too much work for only two or three people to manage.

 Roundtree and her supporting crew, which included Signal American GM Sarah Imada and local businessman Keith Bryant, worked hard to maintain the program, which mostly involved watering seven days a week.

 However, after 14 years of early morning and late evening watering and struggling to help find individuals to assist, Roundtree decided she could no longer go on with the program.

 “This has been an extremely hard decision to make,” she said in April. “A few years ago, it was questionable whether I could keep the program going, but then Keith (Bryant) and Sarah Imada stepped up to help. The last two years have been especially challenging as Keith and I have juggled the watering schedule each day, morning and night, limiting our time to leave town and both of us having a demanding professional schedule as well.”

 The flowers added vibrant color to the downtown area during the hot summer months and after only one season without them, Weiser Main Street and the WEDC Task Force began discussing a plan to bring them back. 

 Weiser Main Street ended up spearheading the new program by conducting research and putting a budget and plan together. A big part of the discussion was making daily maintenance easier.

 Weiser Main Street volunteers were aware of the work involved with the hanging baskets and elected to go with standing flowerpots because they retain more water for longer periods of time. In addition, existing driplines used to bring water to the city’s trees can also be used to water the flowers.

 “The biggest project that we are working on right now with Weiser Main Street is bringing back the flowerpot program,” said WEDC committee member and Weiser Main Street board Chair Melanie Davidson-Hickey. “We spent a lot of time with the city this summer. We walked all around (town) and figured out that we can set up drip watering systems. We have nice concrete pots on order that will sit in tandem with the trees, so they can tap into the dripline.”

 Blackwell said the cost for each of the 500-pound pots is approximately $570 per pot.

 “We are starting with nine because that’s what we have in the budget right now,” he said, adding that the group plans to apply for a local grant to fund the other nine pots.

 Hickey, who noted that the WEDC has an annual budget through the city, said the program should be ready to go next spring. As a note, economic development committees generally exist within communities to strengthen the local economy and foster growth while maintaining character. The WEDC works in tandem with Weiser Main Street, an arm of the national Main Street America program, which has the same goals in mind. 

 Weiser joined the program in late 2023, a move that promises to open up grant possibilities for specific projects.