The baskets - a Keep Dunedin Beautiful project - were actually more like ''our babies'', apprentice nurseryman at Blueskin Bay Nurseries Declan Smith said.
He and Malcam Trust hanging basket co-ordinator Lucy Grigg have spent countless hours over the last few months preparing the baskets and getting them ready for their big outdoor experience.
''Last year, I went into town just to see the baskets because they are our babies. I wanted to get up there and pick things [weeds] out that other people could not see,'' Mr Smith said.
There will be 100 baskets hanging up in town at any one time, adding a lot of colour right through until late summer.
The plants are still hanging up in the hot house at Blueskin Bay Nurseries but are about to be moved outdoors for two weeks, in preparation for the relatively harsh conditions along George St.
''We think they are going to be perfect buckets and in a couple of weeks they will just be covered.''
Malcam Trust chief executive Andy Kilsby said the baskets were not just a colourful addition to central Dunedin but also provided a project and valuable experience for the youth in their programme.
''Everyone appreciates them and it gives young people a project.''
He said Dunedin City Council funding for the project, via Keep Dunedin Beautiful, was a year-by-year thing and there was no guarantee the trust would be able to do the baskets next year.
''We want to look at it as a way we can give young people a chance to manage a project from start to finish and there is an aesthetic aspect, as well.''
He said the trust was very proud of the work Miss Grigg and Mr Declan had done this year.
