By REBECCA BILLS
A FRESH burst of colour in the formally empty flower box in front of the Mount Evelyn Newsagency is bringing a smile to locals.
Last week Mount Evelyn’s Coffee, Cake and Cuttings (CC&C) Garden Group filled the flower box with a mixture of native and annual plants with the help of the Mount Evelyn Chamber of Commerce and The Home of Garden Lovers Nursery
CC&C Garden Group Convenor Anne Welsh said after admiring colourful planter boxes in Europe last year the group wanted to help in planting out the neglected planter box in Wray Crescent.
“The group are very enthusiastic and excited to see the riot of colour in spring that the planter box outside the Mount Evelyn Newsagency will bring to the main street of our local shopping centre,” she said.
Mount Evelyn Chamber of Commerce president Kathie Freeman said her organisation and Mount Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Association (MEEPPA) had been working on a project with Yarra Ranges Council over the past six months to discuss options for using the boxes when Ms Welsh contacted her wanting to help.
“Looking at this project as a whole we aim to include bike racks, seating, lighting and loading zones and are at a stage where the business community is finalising the streetscape ready to present back to council within the next few months,” she said.
Ms Freeman said since the first planter box was finished the council has given permission to fill the other empty planter boxes along the street.
She said the CC&C Garden Group, MEEPA and the local Girl Guides will help in filling the planter boxes.
