By MACKENZEE SIMMS | Staff Writer

HELENA – The Helena Beautification Board and volunteers congregated in Helena’s Old Town for the annual Spring Planting Day on the morning of Saturday, April 20. Together, they planted hanging baskets that adorn the streets of Old Town.

Spring Planting Day is one of Helena’s Beatification Board’s annual events. For this project, volunteers gathered at the Caboose Welcome Center to get their hands dirty as they filled baskets and planted foliage.

According to Councilmember Chris VanCleave, the chairman of the Helena Beautification Board, this year’s Spring Planting Day was a success.

“The annual volunteer basket planting event in Old Town, sponsored by the Helena Beautification Board, was a resounding success, bringing together the community to beautify our city and showcase the spirit of collaboration and civic pride,” VanCleave said.

The Spring Planting Day is more than just an opportunity to give back to the city—It is also an educational event as volunteers learn the steps to create the perfect hanging baskets.

“We make it an educational event,” VanCleave said. “Volunteers come and we actually teach them to make those baskets. The three components—a filler, a spiller and a thriller—will get you a good basket.”

Fillers, spillers and thrillers refer to various types of plants that can be grouped together in display arrangements for maximum impact. Thrillers are vibrant plants that serve as the arrangement’s focal point. Fillers surround the thriller to add fullness to the basket by filling empty space. Spillers are plants that spill out of the basket and trail down to sway in the breeze.

With these three components, the beautification board assembled their classic baskets to add pops of color to Old Town.

At a regularly scheduled city council meeting, Mayor Brian Puckett acknowledged the work of these volunteers and the impact they have on Old Town.

“Thank you so much to the beautification board,” Puckett said. “The hanging baskets that we know and love every summer were planted this past Saturday.”

Moving forward, the Helena Beautification Board’s next project consists of completing phase two of a landscaping project at Lee Springs Park.

For more information on the beautification board’s upcoming events, visit Facebook.com/HelenaBeautiful.