Published: May 02, 2007 11:44 am         

Plant sale kicks off downtown's next season

CUMBERLAND - Connie Torrence finds everything from the atmosphere of the city's Town Centre to the mountains of Western Maryland well worth the trip from Virginia - even if it isn't a financial boon to her business.

Torrence and Cindy White, co-owners of Roadview Nursery of Gloucester, will be one of 14 vendors at the 12th annual Let's Beautify Cumberland! Downtown Plant Sale that will be held Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The two owe it all to Ed Mullaney, downtown manager, whom they met when he was a teacher at Bethesda-Chevy Chase. Even after he retired from teaching and moved back to his native Cumberland, he didn't forget the two. Once the plant sale was created, he was on the phone asking them to join it.

"We've enjoyed it," Torrence said. "The returns are not as great monetarily, but we enjoy our time there. It's beautiful and the people are wonderful. It's just a joy."

The two will bring as much as they can fit in their truck from roses and azaleas to a few trees.

Calling it "a real signature event of downtown," Mullaney noted that May is Let's Beautify Cumberland! Month.

Many vendors, he said, "do a gift in kind" where they give back to the committee, including a number of flowers. This year, plans are to use many in the Jon "Wes" Hann Memorial Fountain, which is to be planted in the second concrete planter near CVS. Hann worked as a pharmacist downtown for 35 years until his death Dec. 12.

The planter, which will include a 6-foot tall fountain, is to be dedicated May 25 during Friday After Five.

The plant sale along with the farmers market were two of Sue Cerutti's preferred downtown happenings. Cerutti, who worked alongside Mullaney as co-manager since 1998, died April 23 from ovarian cancer. The plant sale, she felt, was a kickoff to the summer season.

"This was one of her favorite times of year to come enjoy outdoor dining and shopping for plants," Mullaney said, noting she planted them at her home on Centre Street as well as in places along Baltimore Avenue and Decatur Street.

"This is a sad but happy time for me," he added. "I'm saddened by her loss but happy that we will continue to make this a beautiful community in which to live."

Jerri Dell, a friend of Cerutti's, is encouraging residents to paint their homes and to plant some flowers.

Cerutti, Dell said, often said, "There is nothing a little paint and some flower boxes can't make better."

Other participating vendors include J&B Farms, Oldtown; Dovedale Nurseries, Springfield, W.Va.; Daughton's Greenhouse, Wellersburg, Pa.; Sue's Greenhouse, Grantsville; Lee's Greenhouse, Swanton; The Knot Hole, Flintstone; Fischer's Greenhouse, Little Orleans; Upper Potomac Gardening Club, Cumberland; Piney Mountain Orchard, Eckhart; Friends Aware, Cumberland; Cedar Rock Farm, Mount Savage; Reinhart's Greenhouse, Flintstone; and Jill's Iris Patch, Ridgeley, W.Va.

Volunteers will help people carry plants to their cars. For large orders, deliveries can be made.

The flower market will continue each Thursday in May from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Thursday farmers market officially begins June 7 with the Saturday market starting June 16, the weekend after Heritage Days.

For more information, call (301) 722-5500.

Maria Smith can be reached at msmith@times-news.com.