Old Town’s hanging baskets… see you again next year!

#BeautifulBeaverton

Red, yellow, orange, purple, violet and green…

These delightful colors bloom not only in our gardens each Spring, but bloom on the streets of Old Town Beaverton as well. Like bees, butterflies and other pollinators, these beautiful baskets help attract visitors from far and wide. Once here, while the pollinators buzz or flutter from one yummy basket to another, visitors can experience the variety of restaurants and shops that make Old Town Beaverton a destination to come back to again and again.

The hanging basket program started in 2002 from a City Council agenda bill for the Hall and Watson Beautification project. In addition to the creation of The Round Amphitheatre, the project consisted of hanging 280 flower baskets from May to October each year. Today, there are 360 baskets hanging along the following streets: Hall Blvd. Watson Ave., Lombard St., Broadway St., and Farmington Rd.

The flowers are provided by The Garden Corner in Tualatin and carefully chosen to make sure they keep their blossoms the entire 6 months they are up. Over the years, 100+ different varieties of plants have been used in the baskets including Special Supertunias, Calibrachoas, Lysinachias, Scaveloa, Brachychomb, Sutera, Santivitalia, Cuphea, and Plectranthus.

Two seasonal employees rotate on a schedule to water the baskets every day and fertilize once a week. They use a 10-gallon water-wise container with a 3-gallon water reservoir which reduces water waste by 50%. This container allows the plants to withstand extreme heat during summer months. These two amazing flower caretakers also brave the summer heat and complete the task of watering all 360 baskets in a single 10-hour shift! Fortunately, the two employees can rotate on 4-day schedules.

Thanks to the City of Beaverton’s Landscape and Urban Forestry Department for help with this story. To find the right native plant for your garden, visit Clean Water Service’s webpage for interactive questions and answers.