by Mike Lesko

Associate Editor

Stow -- The city's Adopt-A-Spot program continues to flourish just like the flowers and plants that are grown in it.

"I can't believe the incredible enthusiasm among the volunteers," said Lauri Kunkel, the city's floral gardener who oversees the program. "The end result is the beautification of Stow."

The city purchases flowers and plants for residents, who plant and weed the flower beds.

"There are flowers and plants at parks, on streets and at the library," she said. "We have about 35 sites at the City Hall campus alone. Any location can qualify."

Kunkel said there are about 70 sites in the city.

Mayor Karen Fritschel came up with the idea in 1994 while she was on Council.

Kunkel guides the volunteers like a baseball manager in spring training.

"We talk about plant selection," she said, sitting in her office with dozens of gardening books and booklets lining her book shelves.

"There are plenty of do's and don'ts," she said. "I try to give people more of a say-so in what they want. But the right plant for the right spot is really important."

After Kunkel orders the plants, which are stored in the city's greenhouse, residents pick them up one day in late May -- usually on the third or fourth weekend -- and plant them.

"People cultivate the area where they're planting," she said. "Some sites get two flats of plants, some get 15 flats."

City personnel water and fertilize the plants using a bi-product of animals from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo that has no odor. It sits on top of the ground, then is tilled into the dirt in the spring.

The city also installs signs at each site with the names or dedications of the adoptees.

The only down part of the program is the inevitable arrival of fall weather, when the plants must be removed so the ground can be prepared for the next planting season.

"That's the hardest part of my job -- pulling out the flowers that still look nice and that have been nurtured all summer," she said. "But if you wait until after frost arrives, then the flowers start to look bad."

Most of the flowers have already been removed, but Kunkel said volunteers are already anticipating next year.

"Lauri Kunkel is phenomenal," said Monica Baird, one of the volunteers who has two sites at City Hall. "She sends us words of encouragement and reminders throughout the summer. She really thinks about the sites and what should be put there."

Residents who want to get involved should e-mail Kunkel at: lkunkel@stow.oh.us or call 330-689-2966.

E-mail: mlesko@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3917