DID leaders hope flower baskets grow downtown's appeal

The brains behind downtown's newest beautification project know there will be some growing pains, but they're confident light pole flower baskets will blossom into a striking amenity.

By David Conway
| 6:00 a.m. September 8, 2016

Plant Parents employee Mark Miller waters a flower basket on Main Street. Maintenance is one of the primary expenses associated with the Downtown in Bloom project.

Sarasota
News

One of the first challenges associated with Downtown in Bloom, a project involving the installation of 138 flower baskets on light poles in the heart of the city, was the decision to start displaying the flowers in August.

The Downtown Improvement District, the organization that’s dedicated $431,000 in funding to the project during the next three years, was understandably antsy about getting started. The group had been discussing flower baskets for more than three years, and board members expressed their frustration with the sluggish city process for securing a vendor.

In June, the city finalized an agreement with local plant service Plant Parents to install and maintain the baskets. A trial run helped shape the look of the Downtown in Bloom project: The DID was interested in a “show-stopping” display, which meant Plant Parents needed to secure blooming plants to generate the requisite color downtown leaders envisioned.

Which leads to the problem with August.

David Glosser, the owner of Plant Parents, explained that these eye-catching plants are more seasonal in nature than other outdoor landscaping might be. The primary flower in the first run of baskets is called a vinca, selected because it blooms in the late summer.

When the DID was finally ready to get started, however, most growers had moved on to preparing for the next season. Plant Parents was able to gather the resources it needed, but it wasn’t exactly a straightforward effort.

“To even get these planted, we utilized five local nurseries to get enough material,” Glosser said.

There are lots of nuances to flower-basket maintenance that might not occur to visitors strolling down Main Street. The fact that the plants aren’t growing in the ground means they require a little more attention, Glosser said, though he’s comfortable with his company’s capability to handle the task.

Plant Parents owner David Glosser is well-versed in the challenges associated with flower baskets, thanks to experience contracting with other clients.

“We’re going to enjoy doing this program, but I think it’s definitely within our wheelhouse to maintain 130 baskets,” Glosser said.

There are logistical hurdles specific to this project, as well. Some light poles sit in shady areas where vinca is less likely to survive, so Plant Parents used impatiens and begonia flowers in those baskets instead. John Moran, the DID’s operations manger, said the group had to use a different type of basket on Lemon Avenue — one higher off the ground, so as not to interfere with the operations of the Sarasota Farmers Market.

Both Glosser and Moran stressed the importance of flexibility when it comes to this project. Originally, the DID had envisioned higher-placed flowers for the entire project, but when the city’s public works department expressed concerns about how the baskets would hold up in a severe storm, the DID was willing to adjust.

Right now, Plant Parents is maintaining the flowers five days a week. Glosser hopes to get that down to three days a week when the plants begin to mature, but with more than $60,000 dedicated to annual maintenance, he’s committed to ensuring the flowers are in the best condition possible.

Good-looking flowers are, more or less, the entire point of the project. If the seasonal plants are holding up well, Moran said the DID won’t mess with success just because a change is scheduled.

“If we have flowers that are looking good, and the flower baskets are still popping after three months, then we’re not going to rip them out and replace them with the next batch,” Moran said.

Although Moran said early feedback from downtown merchants has been very positive, both he and Glosser stressed that the best is yet to come from the flowers, which are continuing to bloom. Because the DID is funded via a tax on downtown property owners, the goal is to make Downtown in Bloom a benefit for businesses.

It might not be easy behind the scenes, but the project team is confident the final product will be worth the investment.

“We want to make people say, ‘This is a fun place to visit and shop,’” Moran said. “Hopefully, they’ll just get fuller and fuller. Right now, they’ve only been installed for a week or two, so give them a break.”