The Flower Islands Program is the most visible, invisible program offered by the Champaign Park District. You have probably seen a flower island without even realizing what it was. But to identify one all you have to do is look for the sign, and what Randy Hauser, the Horticulture and Natural Areas Supervisor of the Champaign Park District, calls the “circus flowers.” Every year at spring time the city of Champaign is made more beautiful thanks to a strategic partnership between the Champaign Park District (CPD) and local businesses. Created in 1988, the Flower Islands Program has grown from six flowerbeds planted throughout Champaign, to over 200 flowerbeds and about 60 clients. Adding color, texture, and life to the streets of Champaign, the Flower Islands Program has truly succeeded in its goal to make our city a “community of flowers.”
According to Hauser, the Flower Islands Program is an identifying feature of CPD. Though Hauser’s position makes him responsible for (almost) all things plants, flowers, and landscaping with CPD, the Flower Islands Program is something he is particularly proud of. Though he says he’s lucky just to have “inherited a very successful program,” Hauser has big plans on how to expand, improve, and diversify the work of the program.
But before that, we need the basics. For an annual fee, CPD designs, plants, and maintains a flowerbed for interested Champaign businesses. Currently, the annual fee is $11.10 per square foot; sizes vary due to visibility and location. Not only does the flower island bring beauty to the business, but the annual fee also pays for but the design, installation, and maintenance of a second flower island at a public area such as a school, park, or right-of-way somewhere else in Champaign. Thus, the program allows CPD and area businesses to “enhance the aesthetic environment twice,” creating two spaces that everyone in the community can enjoy as they walk, jog, or drive by. And the one of the best parts is, once the fee is paid, the businesses have to do no work to make sure that the plants and flowers continue to thrive.
At this point in the year, you are unlikely to see many “circus flowers” around town. That is because this is the time of year that CPD begins removing the plants and flowers in preparation for winter. However, work for the program doesn’t end with the first frost. This is also the time of year that Hauser is working to get commitments for next year’s flower islands, discussing the program with prospective clients, and making orders for next season’s plants. Next April and May Hauser’s team will begin re-planting and adding new islands, ensuring the flowers are in and ready to be enjoyed by June.
Something else that makes this program such a great addition to our community is that each flower island is unique. The “circus flowers” that Hauser and his team use when designing the flower islands are annual, non-native plants, chosen because they are visually interesting and dependable. You might see the same plants in any two flower islands, but no two islands will be the same, and no one island will be the same every year. Hauser is always trying to make sure that the program stays fresh and new. This is done, in part, by testing new plant varieties every year. These new varieties are planted in small sections to see how they do in terms of growth and maintenance. If the plants flourish, they are incorporated in greater numbers and more flowerbeds during the next season.
Another way that Hauser hopes to expand and display the program’s versatility is by adding prairie flowers as an option. Businesses could then request that their flower island consist of native, perennial plants and flowers. Hauser would “love to see a hit of prairie flower” downtown as well as “show that we’re [CPD] adept at both kinds of gardening and that we strive for balance.” The other great thing about adding a native plants component would be the other native creatures that would come with them, such as monarch butterflies, adding even more diversity to the program and what we see at the islands every day.
Whether you prefer “circus flowers” or native plants, it’s clear that the Flower Islands Program enhances and beautifies our community, times two! Hauser says he is constantly struck by the generosity of his clients, their enthusiasm for making not only their business, but also Champaign a more vibrant and inviting place. The areas where the second flowerbeds are planted would just be turf if not for those who created the program in 1988, Hauser, his staff, and the area businesses that ensure that the program thrives and continues to expand. Every one of us benefits from those islands. It’s truly hard to imagine our town without them.
If you are a Champaign business owner and are interested in finding out more and/or joining the Flower Islands Program, Randy Hauser can be contacted via email (randy.hauser@champaignparks.com) or phone (217-819-3817).