Downtown Bend merchants, dispensary spruce up neglected spot

The Downtown Bend Business Association and a Wall Street marijuana dispensary teamed up Thursday morning to clean up and beautify a prominent yet neglected corner at the northern “gateway” to the downtown area.

Oregrown’s employees and DBBA volunteers pulled weeds, and replaced them with some lavender plants.

The corner of Wall and Bond Streets was fading away but these volunteers are bringing new life to this intersection.

“It’s such a gateway to our downtown from Wall Street and Bond and it just needed to be cleaned up,” said Downtown Bend Business Association Executive Director Rod Porsche said.

The lavender plants were donated by the Tumalo Lavender Farm.

For Oregrown, it’s about beautifying the community.

“We feel we have a responsibility to uphold downtown Bend’s values and sort of the way of life that people enjoy down here,” Aviv Hadar said.

Porsche said there are other parts of the city that will need some beautification as well in the near future.

Here’s the Oregrown news release on the project:

Oregrown Industries, Oregon’s leading farm-to-table cannabis company, is teaming up with the Downtown Bend Business Association Thursday to turn an overgrown patch of land near the company’s flagship store at 1199 NW Wall Street into a landscaped pocket park.

“Oregrown is committed to being a positive force in our community,” said Oregrown co-founder Aviv Hadar. “This goes beyond creating jobs and local ownership. This pocket park is a small project, but it’s an authentic expression of who we aspire to be.”

A dozen volunteers from Oregrown and the Downtown Bend Business Association will remove weeds and plant lavender beds and other landscaping purchased by Oregrown. The new plants will be watered and maintained through the business association’s Flower Basket Program, a project that provides more than 100 hanging flower baskets throughout the downtown area.

“This spot is the gateway to downtown Bend on the north side, and we are so happy to be partnering with Oregrown to improve it,” said Rod Porsche, Executive Director of the Downtown Bend Business Association. “The area has needed attention for some time. It’s great that the folks at Oregrown saw the need and are stepping up to keep downtown Bend beautiful.”

Hadar says Oregrown will continue to seek out opportunities be good neighbors.

“Oregrown is a locally owned business,” Hadar said. “We love our craft, our city and our region. We are raising our families here. We’re in it for the long haul.”

Oregrown’s flagship dispensary opens daily at 9:00am and can be found at 1199 NW Wall St. in beautiful downtown Bend, Oregon.

Oregrown is Oregon’s premier farm-to-table cannabis company. Offering an upscale retail experience coupled with an amazing staff and high-end products including solventless extractions and one-of-a-kind cultivars, Oregrown continues to innovate, develop and release world-class offerings, cannabis delivery methods and applications to recreational customers and medical patients.

And here’s some info shared by DBBA Executive Director Rod Porsche:

Seeing the return of the flower baskets up is a sure sign that summer is almost here and we’re ready to welcomeBendites and visitors to come enjoy all the upcomingdowntownevents: Farmers’ Market startsJune 1 st ,SaturdayMarket kicks offthis Saturdayand many, many other events are planned in the coming weeks:BendBeer ChaseJune 4 th , Heaven Can WaitJune 5 th and Bite ofBendJune 17 th -19 th .