Slippery Rock in Bloom has had a rough year, but it is planning to blossom again next spring.

To get there, it will need volunteers in the fall, according to Regina Greenwald, one of the project's leaders.

Slippery Rock in Bloom is an organization that beautifies the borough through the planting of plants and flowers.

Greenwald said the tulip bulbs for this season have been removed. Other plants have been replanted for this season. All of which has been done with workers wearing masks and adhering to social distancing practices.

In the fall, the organization once again will call upon volunteers to help replant tulips.

Greenwald said anyone is welcome to help.

“We usually probably get about 40 to 50 college students who help at the end of October,” she said. “We generally plant about 8,000 tulips in about two hours.”

Both Greenwald and Jeff Berta belong to the Slippery Rock Rotary, which helps support the annual project. Berta, owner of Always Summer Herbs in Slippery Rock, also supplies the flowers for the project every year.

Berta said volunteers typically get a bag of about 100 tulip bulbs, which will cover about 5 feet.

“We plant them in trenches, three across, and they're all touching each other,” he said.

Berta said his business has been adversely affected by the coronavirus. He said the virus shut down many garden centers, and growers across the state have had to reduce inventory. He said he reduced his inventory by half, knowing the season has been cut short.

Despite the effects of COVID-19 on businesses like his own, he believes there will be tulips available for the project in the fall. He said Slippery Rock in Bloom gives the community something beautiful to be proud of.

Every few years, Slippery Rock in Bloom competes in the America in Bloom Competition. The organization won first place in the 2018 national competition in the category of a municipality with between 3,000 and 5,000 people.

“It's good for the town because everyone comes into the town and says it's a cute little town,” Berta said. “It spruces the place up and makes everyone feel good about their town.”

Greenwald said in the meantime, the organization has maintained its typical handful of part-time workers to keep things maintained. These employees often are students.

“We have a great group of kids right now,” Greenwald said. “They're doing a great job.”

Nick Ayres, an incoming senior at Slippery Rock High School, is one of the workers.

Nick said lately the crew has focused on fertilizing and weeding and helping on a project in partnership with Slippery Rock Development to replace the mulch at the base of the trees in the borough.

After weeding and removing the mulch, the workers will lay down fabric and replace the mulch with stone.

Slippery Rock Development is supplying the materials.

Another worker, Nichole Miller of Volant, Lawrence County, is a 2020 Slippery Rock University graduate with a degree in biology. She said other regular activities include trimming bushes, mulching around flowers and plants and watering during dry periods.

The organization has a utility vehicle with a 30-gallon tank attached to it that can be driven around to water the plants.

Miller said the part-time job is ideal for her, and she highly recommends it to anyone who enjoys being outdoors and helping in their communities.

“The SR community has always felt like home to me, so being able to make it look nice in the summer is always something I'm interested in,” Miller said.