PRIDE and "Our Community - A More Colorful Place"
Have Joined Forces!
There are many things a community can do to
improve its appeal, but few compare to the impact of colorful
flowers. Dr. Alan Stevens of KSU
Horticultural Services has been working on an assembly of plants
that fair very well in the Kansas climate. This group of plants are
known as the
Prairie Star Collection. Alan knows the experiences of other
communities who have made a decision to provide more color in their
public spaces. Below are some of his tips for dressing up a
community space:
1) Coordinate the plantings at the Courthouse, all
of the City planters, the Library, and the Park to create an
impressive horticultural display that will attract people so that
they want to come downtown. If you do this over a period of years,
your community will become known for its flowers (not unlike what
they have done on Michigan Street in Chicago). Ultimately, this will
help with economic development because businesses, restaurants, and
even loft living will be attracted to downtown.
2) Have the County Master Gardeners & Garden Club
plan the plantings for all of the planters using appropriate flowers
from the Prairie Star (annuals) and Prairie Bloom (perennials)
collection. These are the plants that are genetically best suited
for our challenging climate.
3) Order the plants wholesale from a grower to be
able to stretch the money further (the cost is about 50% of buying
retail). We need to move on this very quickly because the growers
may have limited plants available now.
4) Create a team of volunteers from the community
(e.g., PRIDE, Friends of the Gardens, other civic groups) to:
a. Have a workday to prepare the beds (clean
out old plants, divide perennials, amend the soil).
b. Have a second workday to plant the flowers when
they arrive from the grower.
c. Assign volunteers to be a “Friend” for each
planter. This would include checking on the plants throughout
the growing season, deadheading, cleaning up around the planter
but it would NOT include watering.
5) Watering requires a special approach. Alan
said that communities have tried different ways of doing this.
Some used volunteers while others had someone from public works
do it. The way that often works best is to hire a contractor to
do it. He feels that you get greater accountability when you do
this and better results. Make sure your investment is secure
with a CLEAR understanding of who will water the flowers!
More information about the the types of flowers
that thrive in the Kansas climate and reports concerning the
research conducted by Dr. Alan Stevens on the Prairie Star
Collection is provided by the following links:
If you would like more information about the
Prairie
Star
Collection, please follow the link provided, or contact Dr. Alan
Stevens by phone at (785) 898-1807 or by email at
alans@ksu.edu.
|
