DAFFODILS!

Daffodils

In 2002, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful instituted Daffodils!, an initiative to plant hundreds of thousands of daffodil bulbs in prominent locations such as gateways, major thoroughfares and greenways. Blooming in April, blankets of flowers greet residents and visitors alike, heralding the beginning of spring and the flowering season.

With the help of our sponsors and volunteers, KIB has now planted over 201,000 bulbs in Indianapolis!

Daffodils! Planting Sites

In 2009 we added another 17,500 bulbs to our 2004 planting at the south split of the I-65/I-70 downtown connector, extending one of the existing swaths up the hill. We also planted over 3,000 bulbs on both sides of the I-65 off ramp at Fletcher Avenue downtown. We distributed thousands more to our Adopt-a-Block partners, schools, and Dig Deep donors.

November 2008 was our seventh large daffodil planting in Indianapolis. We filled the west-facing slope of Highland Park just outside downtown with 18,000 bulbs. East side commuters and bike lane users will enjoy their trip home each evening in April as these blooms greet them as they leave downtown. We also distributed a large number of bulbs to 10 IPS and Charter schools around town for the school kids to plant. Special thanks go to the Hoosier Youth Challenge Academy for their second year of providing a large group of cadets to help with drilling holes and hauling bags of bulbs from the truck to the planting site.

In 2007, we planted more than 28,000 bulbs. Our large planting was another record, over 23,000 bulbs planted in only 2 ½ hours at exit 103 on I-65, Southport Road, in front of the northbound on-ramp in front of Home Depot.

Our small planting was 2,500 bulbs at exit 107 on I-65, in front of the new Calvary School.

In 2006, KIB volunteers and partners, such as long-term partner Firestone, planted 30,000 daffodil bulbs! 18,000 of those bulbs were planted along I-465 just north of 86th Street on the Northwest side of Indy. 4,600 bulbs were planted in the Bates-Hendricks neighborhood at the South split of I-65 and I-70, and 1, 280 bulbs were planted in the Ashland Park.

For 2006, we would also like to thank Rowland Design for being our largest contributor to the daffodil program for the second year in a row.

Daffodils blooming on Binford Boulevard In 2005, 20,000 bulbs were added to KIB’s gateway planting along the 7100-7500 blocks of Binford Boulevard. Corporate volunteers from the CPA Society, Firestone, and Habitat for Humanity added 4,800 bulbs to KIB’s 2004 gateway planting on Kentucky Avenue between Hanna and Lynhurst Roads.

In 2004, over 120 volunteers planted 15,000 yellow daffodil bulbs in two large swaths in the center of the south split of the I-65/I-70 downtown connector. In addition, we planted 5,000 yellow daffodil bulbs in the 23 planting beds the length of the Massachusetts Avenue Arts District.

In 2003, KIB volunteers planted 12,000 daffodil bulbs in one large swath on the on the south-facing slope of the north split of the I-65/I-70 downtown connector.

In 2002, KIB staff and volunteers planted 7,000 daffodil bulbs at the 30th Street interchange of I-65 just north of downtown Indy. While some of that planting was damaged by earth moving and bridge construction, the bulbs have proven themselves to be hardy, blooming wherever they got pushed to during construction.
In addition to these large plantings, each year KIB provides daffodil bulbs to downtown neighborhood groups such as Fall Creek Place, Indy Greenways, Indianapolis Public Schools, and many of our Adopt-a-Median partners.

Now and in the future, we will be greeted by thousands of daffodils each spring, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our many volunteers and partners.