Pansy Power: Spring Plantings on 16th Street Mall Spread Joy as they Soften the Hardscape
Every spring, crews of landscapers descend on the 16th Street Mall armed with gardening tools, flowers, dirt, and mulch. It’s an annual tradition that Eagleton Landscaping’s owner Mike Eagleton and Creative Exteriors’ owner Jeff Miller have looked forward to for decades.
The flower planters soften downtown’s hardscape, and it all starts with planting pansies. “With pansies,” Miller says, “we soften the hardscape and add enjoyment and color.”
Flowers are an important ingredient, and with hundreds of flower planters scattered throughout Downtown Denver, including 397 on the Mall, 460 off the Mall, and 56 on 14th Street, maintaining them is an important job that can be tricky because of the various microclimates.
“It brings a lot of beautification to what can be a very sterile environment,” Miller says. “We incorporate these things for everyone to enjoy.”
Every year, Eagleton makes sure there’s something new to look forward to. “I work very closely with the growers,” he says. “I’ll see a plant and have them grow it specifically for Downtown Denver. I’m looking for things that have a lot of impact, drama and quick-growing longevity, so flowers happen quickly, last all the way to frost, and really fill the pot.”
Their attention to detail, hard work, and passion for beautifying our center city does not go unnoticed. “We constantly get people saying, ‘Thank you — you’re bringing beauty to the Downtown Denver environment,’” Eagleton says. “It has an effect on people, and that is very rewarding.”
This story was originally published in the 2018 BID Annual Report.