As the winter wind blows here in southeastern Minnesota, our thoughts are now turning to flower baskets! Yes! It is time to plan for the summer of 2015, and the baskets need to be started early in the New Year.

The flower baskets were especially beautiful this past summer. It is such fun to hear the wonderful comments on the flowers made by people who live here in Austin and visitors alike! This year we had 40 fewer baskets because of the road construction in front of the Mill Pond.

We are planning on having the regular 240 baskets this year and we need to bring in $20,000 to help pay for them. (This is matched by $10,000 from the city of Austin and $10,000 from the Hormel Company.)

The cost of each basket — the planting and maintenance — is approximately $100. You can “adopt” a part of a basket, a full basket or several baskets. Your gifts also help pay for the flowers in the various pots and beds around Austin.

Please send your tax-deductible check made out to the City of Austin with ‘Flowers 2015’ written in the memo to Tom Dankert at City Hall, 500 4th Ave. NE.

What a great Christmas gift in honor of someone your donation would make!

Thank you so much for helping to make Austin an even prettier city with your donation to ‘Flowers 2015.’

Steve Davis, owner of Steve’s Pizza

Mayor Tom Stiehm

Bonnie Rietz, Former mayor