How do you turn a dull strip into a joy? A series of elegant cement planters filled with flowers and set upon the median strips of Memorial Boulevard, along the Providence River downtown — that’s how. A touch of garden transforms turning from one street onto another into an unanticipated blessing.

Kudos go to the Providence Downtown Improvement District for placing these planters with such fine urban sensitivity. That’s only the latest we’ve noticed of the PDID’s campaign to beautify downtown. It also recently did a fantastic job of cleaning up after Sound Session, the marvelous festival sponsored by the Providence Black Repertory Company (and the city) that bids to join WaterFire as a symbol of the renaissance of Rhode Island’s capital.

Delightful!