Indianapolis Downtown Inc. (IDI) partnered with Riley Area Development Corporation to gather about 60 volunteers May 17 to plant hundreds of annuals and perennials in beds along Mass Avenue in Indianapolis, Ind.

The group planted 420 hot pink Tidal Wave petunias, grown by Brehob Nursery, on bump-out islands along Mass Avenue in downtown. Volunteers for the annual event included residents, employees, Mass Avenue business owners, Riley Area Development board members and master gardeners.

“A clean, attractive downtown pleases visitors and residents, spurs economic development, improves the quality of life and enhances customer perceptions of safety,” says Anne Maschmeyer, IDI beautification manager. “Indianapolis takes pride in its downtown landscape, and its beauty and cleanliness are dependent on private sector participation.”

Most service groups who participate in such beautification projects for Indianapolis have missions to spend time outside or do something physical, Maschmeyer says. Service group members want to feel like they’ve made significant contributions to enhancing their environment. Residents, meanwhile, get to know each other, and business owners develop a greater sense of pride of ownership by participating.

“I was delighted to meet and work with a retired couple who downsized and moved downtown,” Maschmeyer says. “Ann was an avid gardener and missed her large suburban garden, and she was delighted to help us plant.”

IDI’s beautification team plants two seasons of flowers in 200 planters in downtown Indianapolis. It also produces a beautification calendar each year that lists key events, timelines and flower colors, and the calendar is distributed to more than 300 downtown businesses. Indianapolis won the America In Bloom (AIB) competition in 2003 and hosted the AIB awards symposium in 2004.

For more information on Indianapolis Downtown Inc., go to www.indydt.com.