In spring, summer, and extending well into fall, we enjoy the bright blue planters cascading with red begonias as we make our rounds to the Signal Mountain Post Office. The contrast in the red and blue makes us happy, and the robust condition of the flowers makes us envious. Each time we visit the Post Office - or even ride by - we wonder how these begonias and planters got there to cheer us on our way.
The Boy Scouts started this history when they made the original planters that lasted for many years before time and weather wore them down. Members of the Garden Club of Signal Mountain, a federated club, plant the begonias and maintain them weekly but noticed that the planters needed to be replaced. When the issue was raised, club member Milissa Gee volunteered her husband Dick to create new ones.
Dick accepted the job willingly and brought both his carpentry expertise - he worked on the set building crew at Signal Mountain Playhouse for years - and his own supplies, including that arresting blue paint. He upgraded the planters so that they could be more securely attached to the areas where they are housed. The “new and improved” planters are now home to the fledgling begonias planted by garden club gals early in May.
Dick, a great community volunteer who served on the Signal Mountain Town Council and as mayor, pitches in when there’s a need. A few years back, he headed the renovation of the Playhouse’s “house,” a job that involved moving tons of earth, terracing the audience area, and placing stones as retainers. Now, he works to maintain and enhance his and Milissa’s beautiful hillside retreat filled with marvelous plantings and picturesque boulders. The SMPO planter project got him out of his paradise back into the community.
The planters are graced by lusty begonias that receive great care from the members of the Garden Club of Signal Mountain. Members plant the begonias in full spring, and 27 members of the club volunteer to take a week to water and fertilize the flowers, which thrive through the heat of July and still linger beautifully until they are taken away at the end of October.
In addition to these duties with the planters, the Garden Club of Signal Mountain also maintains the plantings and scheduled care of the plants at the Welcome to Signal Mountain signs on Shoal Creek and at James Boulevard at Taft Highway. In addition, the club maintains the plantings at the MACC pollinator garden and the Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker, as well as James Park. The club’s volunteer spirit is contagious … just ask Dick!
Thanks so much to Dick Gee for his generosity and skill in creating new planters for us to appreciate as we mail our packages and buy stamps. Thanks, too, to the Garden Club of Signal Mountain for bringing beauty that inspires us as we hasten through our days. The spirited red and blue (Rustoleum’s Brilliant Blue) presented by the begonias and their planters get our attention and make us grateful for our great community.
by Anne Rittenberry
The Boy Scouts started this history when they made the original planters that lasted for many years before time and weather wore them down. Members of the Garden Club of Signal Mountain, a federated club, plant the begonias and maintain them weekly but noticed that the planters needed to be replaced. When the issue was raised, club member Milissa Gee volunteered her husband Dick to create new ones.
Dick accepted the job willingly and brought both his carpentry expertise - he worked on the set building crew at Signal Mountain Playhouse for years - and his own supplies, including that arresting blue paint. He upgraded the planters so that they could be more securely attached to the areas where they are housed. The “new and improved” planters are now home to the fledgling begonias planted by garden club gals early in May.
Dick, a great community volunteer who served on the Signal Mountain Town Council and as mayor, pitches in when there’s a need. A few years back, he headed the renovation of the Playhouse’s “house,” a job that involved moving tons of earth, terracing the audience area, and placing stones as retainers. Now, he works to maintain and enhance his and Milissa’s beautiful hillside retreat filled with marvelous plantings and picturesque boulders. The SMPO planter project got him out of his paradise back into the community.
The planters are graced by lusty begonias that receive great care from the members of the Garden Club of Signal Mountain. Members plant the begonias in full spring, and 27 members of the club volunteer to take a week to water and fertilize the flowers, which thrive through the heat of July and still linger beautifully until they are taken away at the end of October.
In addition to these duties with the planters, the Garden Club of Signal Mountain also maintains the plantings and scheduled care of the plants at the Welcome to Signal Mountain signs on Shoal Creek and at James Boulevard at Taft Highway. In addition, the club maintains the plantings at the MACC pollinator garden and the Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker, as well as James Park. The club’s volunteer spirit is contagious … just ask Dick!
Thanks so much to Dick Gee for his generosity and skill in creating new planters for us to appreciate as we mail our packages and buy stamps. Thanks, too, to the Garden Club of Signal Mountain for bringing beauty that inspires us as we hasten through our days. The spirited red and blue (Rustoleum’s Brilliant Blue) presented by the begonias and their planters get our attention and make us grateful for our great community.
by Anne Rittenberry
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