Blooming red begonias nourish downtown Bristol business

By DeWolf Fulton
Posted 5/26/18

With flourishing help from donors, volunteers and the Town of Bristol, 110 flowering baskets were hung on lamp posts along Hope Street this week, bringing vibrant new life to the downtown retail …

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Blooming red begonias nourish downtown Bristol business

Posted

With flourishing help from donors, volunteers and the Town of Bristol, 110 flowering baskets were hung on lamp posts along Hope Street this week, bringing vibrant new life to the downtown retail district.

Bristol Blooms volunteers helped a truck crew from the Dept. of Public Works hang the plants on Monday morning from Constitution Street to Franklin Street and on State Street between Hope and Thames.

The local group that began about five years ago, expressed its gratitude to the donors and others who assisted with the project, including Don Fales of Fales Farm on Metacom Avenue for providing the bright red dragonfly begonias.

Begonias have thrived along the route over the last three years, growing nicely in the shade and enduring the occasional summer heat wave “as long as they are fertilized,” said Bristol Blooms organizer Susan O’Donnell.
She proudly showed off the group’s new golf cart, operated by retired local gardener Isaiah Leite, to water and fertilize the baskets. From May to October he is out “at the crack of dawn” every day to avoid morning commuters.

Bristol Blooms colleague Susan Maloney said it gives her particular pleasure to help beautify the historic district. “These plants welcome visitors to our scenic waterfront town,” she said, adding the plants also help promote business.

Along with a third Bristol Blooms partner, Audrey Field, the three women said residents should not underestimate how the flowers stimulate the economy, adding colorful joy to downtown shopping. Lobster Pot restaurateur Jeff Hirsch told them out-of-town visitors remark about the “glorious flowers” of Hope Street.

Ms. O’Donnell said she and former resident Jackie Cranwell pooled their ideas to bring flower baskets to Bristol after noticing their appeal in other waterfront towns, including Williamsburg, Nantucket, Hyannis, Newport and Barrington.

In its first year, Bristol Blooms displayed only eight baskets at the intersection of Hope and State streets. Over the years the project grew to as many as 144 baskets, but it has been a learning process. There was once no designated watering volunteer, and many plants did not survive.

But determination and donor support has paid off. The spindles used for hanging plants from the lamp posts were fabricated by Ned Miller of Miller Metalworks on Metacom Ave in Warren. Each year during the holiday season, they are hung with 110 Christmas wreaths hand tied by Frerichs Farm in Warren.

Over the years, Bristol Blooms has cultivated a good relationship with their companions in Barrington, where similar flower baskets also hang. While the two towns share ideas and hesitate to say they have a “friendly rivalry,” they watch each other’s progress and advocate promoting business together.

“Now it’s a well-oiled machine,” Ms O’Donnell said of her group, explaining they have about six volunteers and a growing number of private donors. Initially the Town of Bristol provided $1,000 for the first golf cart water vehicle. These days the town provides a DPW truck crew for hanging and removing baskets.

Ms. Maloney said the group raises between $7,000 and $8,000 per year from a group of dedicated donors, enough to cover annual expenses. They have secured support through social media, letter-writing, ads in the local paper and appearances at local banks and the Mt Hope Farm Farmers Market.

For those wanting to join the effort and make donations to Bristol Blooms, Ms O’Donnell said the best way is through the group’s local PO Box #1083.

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