EVERETT — A few dozen volunteers fanned out across Hewitt and Colby avenues early Friday morning.
Armed with trowels and trays of pink and purple petunias, the crew wearing orange vests added fresh flowers to downtown’s streetside planters and hanging flower baskets. It’s an annual tradition enjoyed by merchants and shoppers alike.
“I’m just here to make the city pretty,” said Marianna Conner, a bright-eyed Everett senior volunteer. “What I love about it is it’s overnight to beauty.”
Each year, the city relies on volunteers to help beautify its downtown with fresh blooms. The city’s parks staff plant flower beds in center street dividers and provide tools and snacks for helpers.
Most of the flowers are grown from seeds and cuttings in the city’s greenhouses.
Bill Motteler, 79, had bits of soil on his bifocals and took a swig of coffee from a plastic commuter mug.
The Everett man, who worked at the Grand Coulee Dam and later at the Boeing factory in Everett, volunteers for the community as a member of the South Everett Lions Club.
“If it was raining, I’d say to heck with it,” said Motteler, who said he got his green thumb from his father who was a “tree surgeon.”
Stew Kim, owner of Z’s Burger on Colby Avenue, stepped out of Starbucks on Friday morning wearing a headphone radio and Seahawks hat.
“It’s wonderful,” he said of the fresh plants, which along with sculptures and water fountains add vibrancy to a downtown that has struggled for decades. “People stop by and smell the flowers and point to the hanging flower baskets.”
David Chircop: 425-339-3429, dchircop@heraldnet.com.
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