The annual zinnia flowers located by Ridgeland’s city hall along Highway 51 and West School Street are in full bloom and ready for residents to enjoy.
Keep Ridgeland Beautiful (KRB) first planted the Zinnia Fields Forever four years ago. The president of the Ridgeland Chamber of Commerce at that time, Karen McKie, presented the idea to Mayor Gene McGee and to KRB. The city officials then appointed KRB members to serve on the committee.
“We all were excited to partner on this beautification project,” KRB Committee Chair Jan Richardson said. “Karen also owns Green Oak Florist so she has a very green thumb.”
Zinnias are an annual flower that the committee replants each year.
“We plant the California Giant zinnia seeds in April,” Richardson said. “Zinnias are ideal for public spaces once established. They are drought and heat tolerant. We are grateful for a good rain though.”
The special thing about this wildflower field is that the community can take home the flowers to enjoy.
“It is our pleasure to allow people to cut a bouquet to bring home, to your office or to share with someone,” Richardson said. “We don’t allow commercial cutting or mass cutting, but please cut a bouquet for your office if you choose. Visitors can park at city hall to access the field.”
Taking the bouquets home can even help provide for next year’s flowers.
“If people take a bouquet home, once the zinnias dry, people can collect seeds and plant them next year,” Richardson said.
Richardson said they have never run out of flowers and they will keep growing and blooming until the middle of the fall.
“Keep Ridgeland Beautiful’s mission includes encouraging and creating beautiful spaces,” Richardson said. “It’s unusual to allow flowers to be picked, so people will often have to be reassured that it’s permitted and people are so appreciative. There are plenty of blooms so the aesthetic of the field isn’t affected. We hope it makes them feel a special and happy connection to Ridgeland, and some people don’t stop and just enjoy the kaleidoscope of color on their drive to work every day that the field provides.”
