John Scarffe, Nederland.  Susan Walsh, owner of Farm Tub LLC, based in Boulder, tries out one of the kits that self-water flower pots outside the Nederland Visitor Center. The kits are made of food-grade materials. Water feeds up through the strips into the roots of the plants. Farm Tub has installed the kits in Arvada, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Littleton and Winter Park.

All town planter pots, except at the pedestrian bridge, will have them, because they save time and labor costs. The kits will be placed in flower pots at Peak to Peak Spirits, Nature’s Own Rock Shop, the Visitor Center, Ace Hardware, Centennial Bank and Trust, the Train Cars, Boulder Creek Lodge and Black Forest.

Elizabeth Allen of Coloring Colorado coordinates Nederland’s beautification efforts and said the Nederland Downtown Development Authority is funding the entire beautification project this year, including the kits. She found out about Farm Tub at their booth at the 2016 Colorado Garden & Home Show in Denver.

(Originally published in the June 8, 2017 print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)