To the Editor:

I wish to express the Village of Potsdam’s gratitude to its 2011 community gardeners.

On June 5, volunteers led by master gardeners Nancy Reed and Janet Learned planted 24 downtown garden plots on Market, Elm and Main streets.

The downtown gardening project began in 2007 with an investment of funds from the Village of Potsdam to purchase flowers and soil amendments. In 2009, the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce became a co-sponsor and contributed again to this year’s planning budget.

The beautiful flowers were purchased from Potsdam Agway, who additionally donated a large load of mulch for the flower beds.

The gardeners will continue to care for the flower beds through the summer growing season. The Potsdam Public Works Department will water the beds during the growing season.

Potsdam relies on the spirit of volunteerism to maintain and enhance the quality of life for all our residents, neighbors and visitors. The downtown gardening project is one of Potsdam’s premier volunteer events and contributes to the attractiveness of our downtown and the wider community.

Once again, thank you to all the volunteers, the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce and Potsdam Agway for participating in another successful gardening season.

Reinhold J. Tischler, mayor

Village of Potsdam