MOUNT VERNON — First impressions are always lasting. And members of the New Shoots Garden Club are making sure that visitors entering Mount Vernon receive a positive and attractive first impression as they enter the city on Ohio 3/U.S. 36 at Columbus Road.
Once again, club members took on the task of planting new flowers in the flower bed where the “Welcome to Mount Vernon” sign sits at the southwest entrance of the city.
“We started this in 2002 with Jeff Dorton during Ameriflora,” club vice president Mary Scott told the News. Dorton later moved to Cincinnati, and the club decided to continue with the project of annually planting and maintaining the flower bed after summer interns were unable to keep up with the ongoing maintenance. “I pushed the garden club to do this because I felt we needed to have things look a little nicer and welcoming as people are coming into town,” said Scott.
Flowers that were planted this year are Petunias, Marigolds, Salvia, Ageratum and Dusty Miller. “We try to coordinate the flowers with the colors that are on the sign,” said Scott.
New Shoots is a member of the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs and is entering the 2012 Beautification Contest. “This is the first year we’ve entered it,” said Scott. “The association wants to encourage clubs to do things to beautify their communities.”
Other activities the club takes part in include flower shows at the Knox County Fair and the Dan Emmett Music and Arts Festival, participation in an exhibitors and judges school, regional and statewide meetings and collecting socks for Dr. Atwell’s sock tree each Christmas. There are currently 12 members in the club, including president JoAnn Graham.