ELBERTA - A few weeks ago, the Elberta Town Council voted unanimously to accept an offer from the Elberta Farmers Co-Op to help manage the flora found in front of each of the town’s entrance signs.

Council members were quick to praise the Co-Op for offering their help in that management, but Deena McMullen, the garden center supervisor for the Elberta Co-Op, said she and others were just glad to able to give something back to the community.

McMullen said she was approached some time ago about working with a few of the plant beds in front of the signs, and she started a process that took several weeks of work to get them ready for planting.

“We began cultivating and did a full eradication of the existing soil,” McMullen said. “We did some reconditioning, added ant killer and weed control products before we could even begin to start placing new plants there.”

McMullen said it then took a few weeks to find the right plants to use for the project.

“We wanted to provide some variety and diversity in the boxes, so there’s everything from Agapanthus and Dusty Miller plants to loropetalum,” McMullen said. “We decided to go with plants we already had available here at the Co-Op so that if people saw them and liked them, they could come and pick them up for their own homes and gardens.”

McMullen said she was thankful for the opportunity to be of help to the town, adding that she couldn’t have done the work without the help of her summer apprentice Dera Pugh, an upcoming senior at Robertsdale High School.

McMullen also thanked the management of the Co-Op for encouraging her and giving their support for the project, specifically Elberta Co-Op Manager William Carlew.

“All of this wouldn’t be happening without his support, without having the type of manager that encourages us to do good things like this out in the town,” McMullen said. “We donate time and work to help out at our schools and other places around the area, and it’s because of the environment of support for outreach that he helps create.”