Irrigation for hanging baskets finally in place

December 3rd, 2013

Summer is here and colourful flower baskets have been hung outside the shops of central High Street again for the season, drawing praise from local shoppers.

The big difference this year is that the 112 baskets will look healthy all summer, thanks to a new automatic watering system that has recently been installed.

Last year there were fewer baskets hanging and individual shop owners did most of their own watering, along with help from the Volunteer Fire Brigade.

Howie Timms, the past chairman of Our Town Motueka, has coordinated the irrigation project with contractor Ross Jackett from Concrete Worx.

"This is third year we have had baskets on High Street, but without automatic watering it was never going to be viable long term," Howie said.

The involvement of two 'elder statesman' of Motueka, who have wanted irrigated baskets on High Street for many years, was key to the project going ahead.

Peter Assaf and Peter Bourke have been involved in the business community in Motueka for many years and it was Peter Assaf who pushed Howie into getting the project off the ground.

"I had a coffee with Peter and he encouraged me to make it happen," Howie said. "Once I said I was keen to get it done he sourced a donation from a local Motueka couple that enabled the project to start."

A local contractor was then asked to quote and his feedback on costs of the project delayed it going ahead. Peter Bourke was told of the initial quote and he offered to engage a contractor he knew to see if the job could be done cheaper. True to his word he found a contractor whose quote was significantly cheaper and enabled the project to move forward.

The overall costs totalled around $25,000 and apart from the private donation, most of the project costs have been funded via the Our Town Motueka budget. Keep Motueka Beautiful also contributed $1,000.

The 112 baskets will be watered every morning at 5am to keep them looking healthy. Peter Bourke has also offered to fertilize the baskets a few times during the summer months ahead.

"The support of OTM members - the business owners - has been key in completing the scheme, particularly those whose water we are using throughout the summer, Howie said.

"The hanging baskets will certainly enhance the experience of visiting and shopping on High Street, which is a goal of Our Town Motueka. If we can make central High Street a more pleasant place to be, we hope it will encourage locals and visitors to shop local."

The irrigation system has used discretely placed, thin piping along the length of both sides of the street, with raised connections strung above the breaks for alleyways.

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