Brooks Garden in Knoxville will keep a bit of its holiday look for a few more weeks, as the white lights will stay up even after the Christmas lights are down. But there are more plans for improvements to the small park in downtown Knoxville as springtime approaches.

Former Knoxville mayor and police chief Harv Sprafka says the corner park at Main and Roche Streets has become a favorite site all year long, which is what he intended when the corner lot was redeveloped beginning in the last year of his term.

He tells KNIA/KRLS News he’s getting ready for spring planting and preparing Brooks Garden for the summer season, and that the aid from local citizens has been very helpful.

“The people of Knoxville have been very generous, giving money; there were a lot of grants that I wrote for; and the Knoxville Heritage Community Foundation…really stepped up, really helped us get this off the ground,” Sprafka says. “But it’s principally been the support of local people, if you will, who have continued to support and raise the funds.”

Sprafka says the garden adds something to the local atmosphere when it’s lit at night during the holidays, and he wants to continue that for a while longer. But he also intended for it to have four-season appeal, and continues to do what he can to make that happen.

For more about Brooks Garden, you can tune in to today’s edition of Let’s Talk Knoxville.