Dusty Miller, petunias, dianthus, snapdragons, flax lilies, marigolds, ivy and impatiens.
Those are the varieties filling Downtown’s flower baskets with cascades of blooms. The plants were chosen for their ability to persevere, in fact thrive, in the average temperatures experienced during North Florida’s cold season.
But what if it gets really, really cold?
According to Amy Harrell, Downtown Vision, Inc.’s director of district services, the nurseryman who selected the plants and installed them in the baskets, Judson Miller of Bel Meridian Nursery, said if the weather forecast calls for several consecutive days of subfreezing weather, it might be a good idea to take down the baskets and move them indoors.
Other than that, Harrell added, “We expect the flowers to bloom and be beautiful until the end of March. We’ll replant the baskets with summer flowers when it warms up next spring.”