Downtown flowers as captivating as ever
The hanging flower baskets and ground planters in downtown Prairie du Chien this summer were sponsored by Prairie du Chien Main Street, local donors and (pictured) volunteer green thumb Donna Teynor, who watered daily—sometimes even twice a day. (Submitted photo)
By Correne Martin
For those who noticed how magnificent the hanging flower baskets and ground planters were in downtown Prairie du Chien this summer, a small number of volunteers are the ones to credit with making the main street more beautiful and inviting.
The Prairie du Chien Main Street organization purchased the flowers and its design committee worked on the project, pulling in financial contributors to help fund the blooms. The city also assisted by providing the truck, gas and water used during watering of the flowers.
But it was all Prairie du Chien’s green thumb extraordinaire Donna Teynor who put in the leg work, involving early morning hours and getting out in the scorching heat to make sure the flowers got the drinks and fertilizing they needed.
“She was out at 5 a.m. when I come to work,” said Street Superintendent Dan Titlbach. “She’s very particular about how and when they are watered. She knows exactly how much Miracle-Gro to use. When it was real hot, she was out a second time watering them.”
According to Teynor herself, there were probably only five or six days this spring, summer and early fall where she did not water the baskets and planters, as they were overly rainy days. “But I still checked on them,” she noted.
“I’d spend a little over two hours and 15 minutes a day down there, and that’s if I didn’t have any vandalism (from late night passers-by),” Teynor said.
The baskets were filled with mostly pink and purple wave petunias, which she explained are a tough plant. In the 10 ground pots, she planted canna lilies. These were actually started in the Nelson True Value and Prairie du Chien High School greenhouse in late March and early April, in order to build their roots.
Overall, the flowers lasted longer than ever this year, Teynor said. There were also many who mentioned their beauty.
They will be taken down very soon to avoid frost damage, Titlbach said.
In addition to the downtown organization, donors included Vandewalle & Associates, SCS Engineering, Melissa Collum, RadioShack/U.S. Cellular and The Pickett Fence. Past PdC Main Street donations helped fund the cost of this year’s flowers.
The design committee consisted of Bill Huser, vice president of PdC Main Street from Pete’s Hamburger Stand, and Kelssi Copus, city councilperson.
Huser shared more about Prairie du Chien Main Street’s latest work: “[We have] other important downtown projects like developing a new marketing message, ‘Nature’s Playground,’ which will appear in new street pole banners soon, wayfinding signage, tourist maps, promotional events, assisting businesses with grants, fundraising and encouraging new businesses to locate in Prairie du Chien. Our group welcomes anyone interested in improving our community and downtown.”
To reach the organization, email mainstreetpdc@gmail.com. Several projects will need volunteers to make them happen.
