Planters, like this one in front of Allentown’s Borough Hall, were also placed at Di Mattia’s Restaurant and Walter’s Phar-macy Saturday as part of the borough’s downtown business beautification effort. JERRY WOLKOWITZ
ALLENTOWN — When some of the trees downtown were deemed diseased by the county and torn down, the borough could have just watched its landscape disappear. Instead, the members of the Shade Tree Advisory Committee, in conjunction with the Allentown Garden Club and Brownie Troop No. 2041 who were determined to beautify the business section, planned streetscapes, officially beginning the downtown business beautification effort.
Initially, three large planters were placed and planted Saturday in front of the municipal building, Di Mattia’s Restaurant and Walter’s Pharmacy.
According to Mayor Stuart Fierstein, the borough and Shade Tree Committee are very interested in maintaining their greenery, while also making downtown an attractive place to visit.
With these intentions, the Shade Tree Committee felt that the planters would be the best way to make their effort a lasting one.
"Our purpose is to monitor trees on public property, and lately we’ve had a lot removed, and new ones are only living for a few years," Chairwoman Teresa Smith said. "We decided one of the best ways to add to the character of the town was to put in large planters that can be changed with the season."
Fierstein agreed that this was a great way to enhance the area.
"A number of the businesses have sidewalks all the way to the street, so you really can’t plant trees," he said. "These planters help us decorate and get color on the street."
With the planter plan in mind, the committee approached the Allentown Garden Club, a nonprofit organization, seeking its expertise.
It was decided that the Shade Tree Committee would provide the planters and pick the location, while the Garden Club would be responsible for researching the best flowers for the area. They decided that the business owners would maintain upkeep of the planters.
It was also decided that the club would change the flowers seasonally.
Garden Club member Carolyn Scesney, who headed the committee, thought the project would be a good activity for her daughter’s Brownie troop.
"Having the girls help with the planting felt like a great way to get them involved in the community," Scesney said.
With the Garden Club’s guidance this past weekend, the nine first-graders of the Brownie Troop, learned how to remove the flowers from their plastic containers, break up the roots, dig the holes, plant the flowers and finally water their creations of snap dragons in the center and pansies along the perimeter.
"It went splendidly," Smith said. "The girls were interested to learn and were very enthusiastic about the planting."
According to Fierstein, this is just the beginning of the process. They hope others are interested and are willing to have a planter outside their businesses.