The weather has finally broken enough to meander around town and look forward to the changes spring will bring.

I notice two very nice houses are being built in my neighborhood, one on South 11th Street, the other over on 9th on the old hospital lot.

As I head downtown, I am pleased to see that several of the big houses old enough to have a history, are being remodeled.

That reminds me of the judges from America in Bloom visiting here last summer and asking if we realized how rare it is to have so many old ornate homes and churches in such good condition.

They think we should organize tours of the town, perhaps on the weekend of the Ghost Walk or some other special event.

They also think a bike path through town would attract visitors. I’ve heard that both are being considered seriously.

My 12th Street neighbor tells me she’s planted over a hundred spring-blossoming bulbs in her yard and the rental yard next to it. What a lovely addition that will be to the neighborhood. Then there are the daffodils that will be shooting up soon at the highway entrances as a result of the community planting two years ago.

Last fall Ironton in Bloom publicized a request for donations of more bulbs, and from this request more than 300 more bulbs were planted around town. Combined with homeowners’ plantings and the many dogwoods that bloom around the same time, I doubt we could go anywhere and find a prettier spring-blooming town than ours.

MawMaw’s Greenhouse, Ironton In Bloom’s contractual partner in lining the downtown streets with the summer’s pots and hanging baskets, is hard at work growing a beautiful variety of plants. Their workers plan to have them in place the first Saturday in May (also the town‘s annual volunteer Clean-Up Day).

As I look from the top of Park Avenue down to the Railroad Depot building, I envision solid blooms and shade trees along both sidewalks and all along the front of the beautiful building itself.

What a sight that would be to a new visitor driving into town!

The 15 attractive new park benches that have been placed in convenient spots downtown beg for more shade and flower pots beside them.

I wonder if the business owners close to them or someone who enjoys working with plants might volunteer to plant and maintain a pot or two next to the benches?

Over on the north side, landscaping for the two new schools was done late last year with no time to spare before winter hit. Even so, great care was taken to save all the old trees possible.

Trees planted on the old grounds as memorials to former educators were carefully taken up and given new places of honor, and a large number of new trees and shrubs were planted and staked as well.

I am anxious to see what the first string of warm days does to this outstanding effort. Ironton in Bloom hopes that teachers and students will also get involved in beautifying their school grounds and the city as well.

Yes, it’s been a hard winter. But with a little help from willing Irontonians, we may well be headed for a glorious spring and summer!

Judy Sanders is an Ironton resident and a volunteer with the Ironton In Bloom organization.