Weyburn's Adopt-A-Planter Program was officially implemented after the endorsement of the City Council in 2016, although the community planters were years in the making.

In the early 1980s, the downtown core of Weyburn underwent renovations to improve and rejuvenate the area. Sidewalks were replaced and large permanent concrete planters formed part of the construction. The streets were lined with deciduous trees and the planters were mass planted with both deciduous trees and coniferous shrubs. The downtown area really benefited from these improvements and it is now hard to imagine what it looked like prior to the reconstruction.

The coniferous shrub material located in the planters had begun to decline as a result of overcrowding, exposure to road salt, and repeated trimming and pruning necessary to improve visibility and line of sight for both pedestrian and vehicle traffic. The overall appearance of the planters had declined and City Council directed the Parks Department to formulate a solution to address the problem.

In the fall of 2005, The City removed all the coniferous shrub material and made plans to replace it with annual flowers in 2006, at least on an interim basis. Later the
Communities in Bloom Committee suggested that an adoption program be implemented in an effort to increase community pride and involvement in beautifying the downtown and the rest is history.

"So the program is all full this year and all of the planters have been spoken for," told Paige Tenbult, Communications Coordinator for the City of Weyburn. "The City is just really happy to have people out beautifying our downtown. The City does offer vouchers to these organizations and they go and plant flowers in the planters. Sometimes it's in front of their business and other places are just community organizations that have come out to help. Then we as the City take the responsibility of watering them throughout the summer and we work alongside them to help beautify our city for the spring and summer."

Due to the hot, dry, and windy weather we often experience in southeast Saskatchewan, the City strongly recommends planting hardy varieties that can withstand these conditions. This includes plants such as petunias, marigolds, and dusty miller. They strongly discourage the use of flowers such as pansies or other plants that cannot withstand the sun. Please consult your local greenhouse if you are unsure of what varieties may be suitable.

"The City goes out frequently throughout the spring and summer to make sure that all of the platers are properly watered," Tenbult stated. "We have the big water tanks that can come downtown to do that for them. But we really encourage the volunteers to keep their planter weeded and just make sure that it remains beautiful throughout the year. We try to do our best with conserving water so we do encourage people to plant those hardy flowers that can really handle the Saskatchewan summer heat."

For more information on the Adopt-A-Planter Program, please contact Public Works at (306) 848-3290. (Photo gallery by Denis Conroy below)