Walking or driving around Bay Minette these days it is hard to miss the positive changes taking place. Everything is coming up pink petunias. And people are taking notice. The spirit of cooperation and the desire to make our community the best it can be is fueling this resurgence in community enthusiasm.

The Beautification Committee’s mission is “to assist the city in the enhancement of the image of Bay Minette. To this end, landscaping projects will be consistent and harmonious. The goal of the Committee is to create civic pride and to encourage the City’s population to participate in the beautification process.” To accomplish this mission, this small group of volunteers gives of their time and energy pulling weeds, planting lovely flowers, and deadheading the flowers to ensure that more blooms will follow. They brave the elements to make sure that the flowers get planted and that Bay Minette looks its best.

I remember one extremely cold day when the group was at the Bay Minette Public Library planting poinsettias. It was bitterly cold and the dedicated volunteers along with several city grounds department employees were out preparing the ground and determining the placement of the lovely plants that added so much to not only the library but throughout town for the Christmas holiday. That vibrant shock of red was the shot heard around Bay Minette and the beginning of wonderful things in our area.

Beautification Committee Chairman Pam Dupree was one of those tireless volunteers braving the elements that day. She joined the group in February 2012 when she took part in the Arbor Day tree giveaway. A Baldwin County Master Gardener, Dupree was given a city map by committee member Jane Denmark to help familiarize her with the spots in town that were to be beautified. One of the first projects Dupree worked on following Arbor Day was pulling thorny vines from the Ligustrum in Blackburn Park.

The park was a natural starting point with all the activity that was beginning to take place there – the Old Town Bay Minette Market Days for one! Dupree added that Flowerwood Nursery donated more than 30 Encore azaleas to the group to plant. They planted those and the beautification process was underway. The pink petunias that have bloomed all over Bay Minette and have had such an impact were chosen to follow up the dazzling poinsettias.

Committee member Jane Denmark, who joined the group three years ago, started out with the Arbor Day tree giveaway as well. Also a Baldwin County Master Gardener, Denmark has given generously of her time to make the Beautification Committee and their efforts a success. She makes entries of Yard of the Month and Beautification Award winners on the group’s facebook page, submits pictures to the local newspapers, participated in the Arbor Day tree planting at Bay Minette Middle School and represents the committee at various community events and speaking engagements.

“The citizens of Bay Minette appreciate the efforts of the committee and wish to express it,” Denmark said of the positive comments she has heard from various individuals about the positive changes taking place. “J.J. Hall (Head of the city’s Grounds and Parks Department) does a wonderful job incorporating volunteers with the city workers in the beautification process.”

You don’t have to be a Master Gardener to volunteer. There will be several opportunities to give of your time and efforts to beautify our fair city including the continued dead heading of the flowering plants in the flower beds and boxes to help increase blooming. Another thing you can do from home is “like” the Bay Minette Beautification Committee on facebook and provide feedback. If you appreciate what they are doing, let them know! A little positive feedback goes a long way.

If you don’t have time volunteer, you can still help make Bay Minette even more beautiful by participating in the Bay Minette in Bloom campaign spearheaded by the North Baldwin Chamber of Commerce and the City of Bay Minette. Become a sponsor of the lovely hanging baskets that are popping up all over town. You can sponsor a pole which consists of two locally made brackets made by Pasco Metal, two lovely baskets of flowering plants, several plantings and upkeep for a $250 tax-deductible donation. The display can also be made in honor or in memory of someone and will be placed throughout the downtown area as well as along Alabama Highway 59. For more information on this project, please contact the North Baldwin Chamber of Commerce at 937-5665.

In other business news, don’t forget to mark your calendars for the upcoming Old Town Bay Minette Market Day on Saturday, July 13th from 7 a.m. until 12 p.m. in Blackburn Park. Hope to see you there!

Joanna Bailey is the director of the Bay Minette Public Library. She can be reached at baileyvolumes@gmail.com