KINGSTON — Mother Nature’s sweet smell and the sights of spring has arrived, with the assistance of some local helping hands.

The Kingston Revitalization Association, North Kitsap Fire & Rescue, Port of Kingston and Foxglove Greenhouses recently joined together to brighten up Kingston for the upcoming summer season.

For the third year in a row, the KRA raised money to purchase 80 flower baskets to hang on the lightpoles in the port, on West 1st Avenue, Lindvog Avenue, Central Avenue, and Highway 104 in downtown Kingston.

But the KRA is opening up the opportunity for community members to be a part of Kingston’s annual beautification effort by offering sponsorships for each basket. By funding a flower basket, sponsors will cover the cost of this year’s plants, the basket and a plaque naming the sponsor that will be on the lightpole, said KRA member Carin Nelson.

Approximately 50 percent of the baskets are sponsored, Nelson said. Groups and individuals from the community to whole classrooms, such as Mel Gallup’s fifth and sixth grade class from Gordon Elementary, have supported the program and the students have gone the extra step as well.

“They had purchased one, then decided to be a part of it,” Nelson said.

Earlier this week, the class headed out to Foxglove Greenhouses where the 80 buckets had been planted with blue and purple cascading petunias, yellow lamtum and trailing biddens. Kids then loaded the five-gallon buckets in the powder-coated wire baskets, which were designed and created by Sam’s Welding, a local Kingston business.

Last year’s wooden baskets were discarded after KRA and Foxglove realized they didn’t retain as much water as the flowers needed.

“The bigger baskets this year will help retain the water,” Nelson said, adding the plants are watered by volunteers. “Hopefully (the flowers will) last longer and be prettier longer.”

The crew from North Kitsap Fire & Rescue and the Port of Kingston stepped up and helped hang the baskets on the poles May 13.

“As long as we’re not running calls or have other things planned, we’ll do it,” said NKF&R Shift Captain Toby Schultz. “People seem to appreciate it and the port helped a lot too.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring a baskets for themselves, a group or someone else, can call Nelson at (360) 779-3079.