The hanging flower baskets around La Jolla are looking drab, but activists have a bright future in mind for them: scrap all the flimsy plastic-and-moss baskets and replace them with thick, sustainable containers and more drought-tolerant plants. The Streetscape/Beautification Committee, a joint committee of the La Jolla Town Council and Promote La Jolla (PLJ), discussed the plan Nov. 23 and is awaiting bids from two landscape contractors. The committee envisions replacing the wire baskets that hold moss with a thick plastic, lifetime-guaranteed basket that is terracotta in color and, apparently, doesn’t look like plastic — similar to the baskets hanging outside Hotel Parisi on Prospect Street, explained Glen Rasmussen, a member of the streetscape committee. “Water just goes through [the current baskets] like a sieve, and they evaporate 360 degrees,” Rasmussen said. “Plus, the baskets rust.” The committee agreed the baskets should be filled with more drought-tolerant plants that need to be watered once per week, unlike the baskets’ current tropical plants such as lobelia that need watering three times per week. The 236 flower baskets hanging in the village have not been replaced since they were installed in 2003. Rasmussen estimated it will cost approximately $250 to replace and maintain each basket for a year, for a total cost of $59,000. PLJ has budgeted $28,000 for the hanging baskets for the next six months, so it’s unclear how the group will handle the cost. PLJ typically pays to maintain the baskets but has not had the money to do so since the city failed to approve the group’s budget in July, following an ongoing investigation into the business improvement district’s finances. PLJ continues to wait for the city to approve an interim budget, so that the city can start collecting fees from the village businesses. Regardless of PLJ’s budget, the committee would like to see residents and businesses step up to the plate to fund the baskets to save PLJ’s reserves for other projects.  “People in La Jolla can sponsor a basket in memory of a loved one or for themselves,” Rasmussen said. “The only way to do that is to get people to buy into the idea that these hanging baskets are appropriate and sustainable.” While PLJ has languished, volunteers and the group’s contracted landscaper have helped to care for the flower baskets since July.   “The idea is to make the streetscape attractive so that people want to come to the village and shop there,” Rasmussen said. “This is our village. We all need to come into the fold. We all need to do this together.” The Streetscape/Beautification Committee welcomes suggestions by calling the La Jolla Town Council, (858) 454-1444 or via e-mail to [email protected].