Goodbye winter grays, hello summer colors

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Not too hot and not too cold.

The weather had to be just right for crews to get out to the city parks and start planting flowers before Memorial Day officially kicks off the start of the summer.

“We’ve had crews out earlier this week and last week edging and tilling the bed and getting them ready to go,” said John Berglund, Rapid City’s Greenhouse Specialist.

Tuesday crews began to plant marigolds in Halley Park, but the process actually began months earlier.

“So, our seeds usually around 2 months growing and the plugs are around a month, month and a half,” explained Berglund.

Now, crews will spend several weeks planting more than 24,000 flowers throughout town.

“It’s starting to look like summer for everyone who’s driving in and out of the city,” expressed Berglund.

Berglund explained that crews have to strategically plant the flowers in the event of an overnight freeze, so more durable flowers like marigolds and snapdragons are planted first.

As the weather stays warmer and planting continues, Berglund said his top priority is to plant a lot of color.

“I like to see the color in the gardens when people are driving by and they can see the gardens and the color that it produces and say ‘wow that looks cool,’” expressed Berglund.

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