Tips for a More Colorful Place

A community that we’re proud of is important to our quality of life.  The “Our Community... A More Colorful Place” program seeks to develop a sense of pride in our hometowns through planting flowers. A colorful community is a more appealing place to visit, work, shop, and live. Our goal: More people ... Planting more flowers ... In more places!

Think about your community in December. Everyone looks forward to the tradition of decorating with holiday lights. It becomes a source of pride and enjoyment, and people are drawn in to look at the bright displays. City governments, businesses, and homeowners all participate in this annual ritual. Even though the decorations only stay up for a month or so, we devote a good deal of time, money, and resources toward making our community festive.

What about the rest of the year?

Displays of annual flowers are the solution for keeping our communities beautiful in the spring, summer, and fall. By placing bright flower displays in public spaces, storefronts and front yards, a community improves its appearance and quality of life. Planting flowers is a source of local pride and is an easy way for everyone to take part in positive community development.

A colorful community is a more appealing place to visit, work, shop, and live! No matter who you are in your community, it is easy to get involved with the "Our Community… A More Colorful Place" program!

Resources for Public Spaces

What a difference color makes –

A coordinated display of flowers in a community's public areas can make your city a real destination. Take advantage of the spaces by City Hall, public parks, the library, and the main street downtown to plant eye-catching displays. Soon the city will be known for its beautiful flowers, thus giving it a favorable reputation and increasing its economic revenue. The flowers become a source of community pride and increase the quality of life.

There are a variety of ways to begin making your community a more colorful place. Bring up the idea at city meetings and discuss the program with local government officials, the Chamber of Commerce, and civic groups. Call on community volunteers to pitch in for a "Planting Day" and get neighborhood and children's groups involved. Is your city involved with the Kansas PRIDE Program?  This is just the sort of community betterment project they help local governments and volunteers with. 

When the program is promoted as a community-wide project, it may be possible to get help from local nurseries or gardening groups. Extra business or publicity for them gives more incentive to get involved. A number of Kansas towns have demonstrated that when a city starts planting flowers in public spaces, there is quickly a ballooning affect - soon businesses and homeowners follow suit! Try to partner with businesses to put flowers by their storefronts - if the plants are coordinated it will result in a stunning display of color.

You will have to budget some resources for watering and care of the flowers, so be sure to have a game plan before the plants go in the ground. The Prairie Star list will provide names of flowers that have proven their ability in the K-State Research trials to have great vigor and spectacular bloom in Kansas.  

Visit the photo gallery to see examples from other Kansas towns of flower displays in public places.

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Resources for Businesses

More color means more business-

One sure way for businesses to gain popularity in their community is by planting beautiful flower displays. People are more apt to linger and have a positive impression when they are surrounded by color. When the whole community gets involved in planting flowers, your town becomes known for it - and that means more traffic for your business!

It's easy to start small. Container gardens are a great way to ease into flower displays and they give you opportunities to experiment with combining plant colors and textures.  Even small flowerbeds can have a huge impact when they're planted with K-State research-recommended Prairie Star flowers. These plants have been selected on their ability to keep blooming when faced with Kansas weather and lazy gardener care.

Are you located in a high density or "Main Street" area? Why not band together with other businesses and pre-order flowers from a grower. This makes it easy to coordinate colors for a more impressive effect and ensures that your plant choices are available.

Talk with city offices about their participation. Soon homeowners will follow suit and begin decorating their front yards with flowers. Displays can also vary with the seasons. Popular in the fall, pumpkins and mums add some great late-season color. Evergreens paired creatively with colorful branches and decorations make a beautiful winter display. Planting flowers is highly contagious, and making your community a more colorful place will benefit everyone.  

Visit the photo gallery for ideas and examples.

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Resources for Homeowners

Brighten up your neighborhood with flowers-

We decorate our front yards with lights for the December holidays - why not with flowers for spring, summer and fall?

Our front yards – what our neighbors and the community see as they walk down our sidewalks or drive down our streets – are public spaces. The "Our Community… A More Colorful Place" program recognizes that front yards of homeowners play a big role in the overall appearance of a community. Individuals can make a real difference towards making their town a better place by planting colorful annual flower displays. 

Wondering how to start?

For planting suggestions, visit the Prairie Star web site to see a list of flowers that are proven by K-State research to perform well and show the most color in Kansas conditions under lazy gardener care. While big displays are great, many homeowners opt to start small. Experiment! Maybe beautiful container gardens will add some pizzazz to your doorstep, or a small display of annuals by the mailbox can be the beginning of flowerbeds to come. Think about color spots – giant flower beds are not necessary!

Check the Kansas PRIDE website to see if your city has already enlisted in a community-wide improvement program. If it hasn't, consider getting one started. The more people you can get involved, the more likely the success of your program. Don't hesitate to talk with city government and businesses about the "Our Community... A More Colorful Place" idea. Organizations ranging from Master Gardeners to Girl Scouts have been involved in community flower-planting efforts throughout the state. One convenient resource is your local Local County Extension Office, which can provide information on the planting and care of your flowers.

Visit the photo gallery for more ideas and examples.

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 "Our Community... A More Colorful Place" is partnered with several other Kansas groups and organizations. Please visit their websites for more information.

Kansas PRIDE Program (www.kansasprideprogram.ksu.edu) - Serving communities across the state to encourage and assist local government and volunteers in making their community a better place to live and work.

Prairie Star Flowers (www.prairiestarflowers.com) - A list of K-State Research recommended flower varieties that are proven to be outstanding performers in Kansas soils and climate.

Kansas County Extension Offices (www.oznet.ksu.edu/main/maps.asp) - Local contacts for communities throughout Kansas.  

K-State Horticulture Department (www.hfrr.k-state.edu) - Your source for publications and information regarding K-State research.