Downtown Frankenmuth is a lush garden of delightful blooms all summer long! Approximately 350 flats and 8,000 four-inch annuals are planted along Main Street’s 2-mile downtown stretch each spring. Add 350 huge hanging baskets and you have an eye-popping streetscape, one so beautiful that it was the 2007 America in Bloom Winner for cities with a population of under 5,000.
Yes, flowers are serious (but happy) business in Frankenmuth. Dan Hopp, green space manager for the City of Frankenmuth, explains:
“You heard me right – March 1 marks the beginning of Frankenmuth’s growing season. We have stored all those beautiful cannas and dahlias for the winter, and now we head to the greenhouse to plant them up and get them prepped for spring. We dig up and store over 500 canna and dahlia plants every fall, store them in a dark, 40-to-50-degree room, and then the first week of March, we begin planting them into 2-gallon pots in the greenhouse. We set our greenhouse to 55 degrees and plant these bulbs into a mycorrhizal soil.
“What is mycorrhizal soil, you ask? A lot of soils are made to be sterile, free of disease and fungus. Mycorrhizal fungi are added to certain soils to boost a plant’s immune system, making them resistant to soil-borne pathogens. On top if it all, they help keep those pesky parasitic nematodes away. Basically, because we grow in such a cool environment with lots of cloud cover in March, the beneficial bacteria strengthen the root system, which helps them to be bigger plants later in the season.”1
A German staple, the red geranium, is not only popular downtown, but also at Bronner’s! Merle from our facilities and logistics team heads up the flower-planting here each spring. Our annual order from the Abele Greenhouse and Garden Center includes about 24 flats and over 500 individual plants. Merle and the facilities and logistics team, along with others from the north building, plant, fertilize, deadhead and keep the flowers weed-free throughout the season. The automatic irrigation system waters them each night, and the blooms provide beautiful bursts of color well into the fall.
Our simple DIY flower lights let you enjoy colorful blooms well after the sun dips below the horizon on a warm summer night.
DIY FLOWER LIGHTS
Materials:
– large cupcake papers
– small cupcake papers
– scissors – glue dots or double-sided tape
– string of lights
To Make Leaves
- Fold a small cupcake paper in half twice.
- Holding the folded point between your forefinger and thumb, make a rounded cut on each side of the folded cupcake paper to create a leaf shape.
To Make an 8-Petal Flower
- Fold a small cupcake paper in half three times.
- Holding the folded point between your forefinger and thumb, cut the top of the cupcake paper so it is rounded.
To Make a 16-Petal Flower
- Fold a large cupcake paper in half four times.
- Holding the folded point between your forefinger and thumb, cut the top of the cupcake paper so it is rounded.
Assembling Flowers
- Using the scissors, cut a tiny “X” in the center of each paper.
- Layer cupcake papers onto each light bulb to make flowers. We suggest you use a small piece of double-sided tape or a glue dot or two between the layers of each flower to hold it together.
What to do with the leftover cupcake papers? Make cupcakes, of course! Simply adapt our Root Beer Float Cake recipe from “Bronner’s Flavorful Favorites, Book 2” staff cookbook for yummy, summery cupcakes!
ROOT BEER FLOAT CAKE
Makes 24 servings
Ingredients:
– 1 (18-oz.) pkg. white cake mix
– 2¼ c. chilled root beer, divided
– ¼ c. oil
– 2 eggs
-1 envelope whipped topping mix
Instructions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, 1 1/4 cup root beer, oil and eggs together; beat well.
2. Pour into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
3. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely.
4. In medium mixing bowl, combine whipped topping mix and the remaining root beer; beat until soft peaks form. Frost cake.
For cupcakes:
1. Line muffin pan(s) with up to 24 cupcake papers.
2. Fill each cupcake paper 1/2 to 2/3 full.
3. Bake 18-21 minutes at 350 degrees. Done when toothpick inserted in cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan(s) 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Remove from pan(s) and set on wire rack until completely cool.
5.Frost.
Enjoy!
1. Hopp, D. (2016, February 9). Flowers In Frankenmuth: Prepping For Spring. City of Frankenmuth. www.frankenmuth.org