BUCYRUS – Bucyrus might be getting bombed in the next few weeks. With bulbs, that is.
The Earth, Wind and Flowers Garden Club is spearheading a fall project to plant 10,000 daffodil bulbs around town. The idea is to celebrate the city’s Bicentennial, which kicks off New Year’s Eve, as well as recognize the 35th anniversary of the garden club.
“I wanted to celebrate our 35th year and the city’s bicentennial,” said Mary Lee Minor, who founded Earth, Wind and Flowers and is taking over as its president again. “The goal would be to have fun, tuck bulbs in all kinds of places and wait to see where they all pop up in the spring.”
Minor said she came up with the idea over the summer, then presented it to garden club members at their August meeting. They gave their stamp of approval in September, then “Bombing Bucyrus” plans kicked into full gear and the popular perennial bulbs were ordered.
Why daffodils and not tulips or another spring flower? The bulbs multiply, Minor said, are easy to grow and require very little maintenance. “They can be mowed down in May without great consequences and will be in place for many years. Plus, deer are not fond of this flower.”
The shipment is due to arrive in mid-October, she said, with planting scheduled in stages. An “approach planting” is tentatively set for the week of Oct. 22 so that the April-blooming flowers will be visible along the north, south, east and west thoroughfares into town, starting at the city limits, she said.
Garden club members have already been assigned the task of mapping out sunny spots in each direction, Minor said, with at least 600 bulbs allotted for each side of town. “We will encourage digging holes wide enough to accommodate 12 bulbs so spring will bring a yellow impact.”
The community is invited to participate in the second phase of the planting project on Sat., Nov. 7, at 10 a.m. at Schines Art Park downtown. There boxes of bulbs, planting locations and instruction sheets will be handed out so volunteers, shovels in hand, can start digging, Minor said.
The proposal, if given the green light, is to bury bulbs six inches deep at all the city parks – Aumiller, Millennium, Picking, and Schines Art Park – and in front of City Hall, the Community Foundation office, the Bucyrus Public Library, the Courthouse and the grassy areas of Washington Square, she said.
Other potential sites, she said, include the Crawford County Fairgrounds, the Bucyrus Historical Society and even the historic Toledo & Central Ohio Train Station on E. Rensselaer St. “We have the potential to have the holes dug and what we can cover is big, but it’s possible,” she said.
The cost for the project is around $2,700, Minor said, with the garden club chipping in $1,000. Diamond Wipes International has already given its backing, she said, and plans are to solicit other sponsors. Checks can be made out to “Projects, Inc.” with the word “bulbs” on the memo line and sent to the Community Foundation for Crawford County, 254 E. Mansfield St., Bucyrus.
“I’m happy. It’s going over well so far,” said the longtime garden club member. “I wanted to do something significant and easy. This is not about seeking publicity as much as ‘gifting’ Bucyrus in yet another way. In the spring we’ll just smile and look at all the yellow.”