For those looking to enjoy the hobby of gardening, take an opportunity to add their own touch to downtown Emporia, or deepen their involvement in the community, there are a few beds available for Emporia Main Street’s “adopt a garden” program.
“This program is great because it provides an opportunity for community members to give back, and in doing so, it really creates a unique and beautiful look for downtown Emporia,” said Jess Buchholz, community development director at Emporia Main Street.
The program has been running for over a decade. Numerous flower beds are placed around the downtown area. If an individual, group, or organization would like to participate, they will contact Emporia Main Street to get started with the process.
Volunteers will be taken through the process, given the water schedule and informed on the irrigation system present. Main Street actually works with the city of Emporia to provide proper irrigation for the beds.
“We want to make sure if our volunteers are spending their time and resources and getting those beds to you know, some of them are so beautiful, and they’re spending all of that time like, making sure that they have adequate water to them,” said Buchholz.
Sponsors are then responsible for the upkeep of their garden for a year, including planting, trimming, and ensuring the area of the bed remains clean. Those who adopt a garden can make their own choices on what they would like to plant, creating a wide variety of gardens spread across Emporia.
“It’s really cool to see the individual gardens come to life, because not there isn’t one garden that looks like the next,” said Buchholz.
Main Street also gives out mini grants to garden sponsors. Sponsors receive $50 in reimbursement when they buy supplies for their garden through Emporia Main Street member businesses.
“There’s no charge. We actually pay you those $50 to get it started,” said Buchholz.
During the summer months, pictures are taken of all the adopted gardens. These pictures are posted on Facebook where others can vote on their favorite garden.
“It’s a little incentive to you know, if your bed’s looking awesome, people can go on and like that photo,” said Buchholz.
The top three sponsors in the voting receive an additional $50 in gift certificates to Emporia Main Street businesses.
Anyone interested in adopting some of the remaining garden beds can contact Emporia Main Street via phone at 620-340-6430 or via e-mail at main.street@emporia-kansas.gov.