Flowerscape program
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Add a new Flowerscape
Do you know an area around Akron that could use a beautiful garden? If you are interested in sponsoring a new Flowerscape site, contact our Interim Flowerscape Director, Dave Thomas, at 330.375.2116, option 7.
2025 Flowerscape Insights
It was a year of transition for our Flowerscape program as our new Flowerscape Director, Dave Thomas, settled into his role. While there were a few challenges, we received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from the Akron community.
One of our goals this year was to incorporate more perennials into our Flowerscape sites. Perennials extend the blooming season since they often flower earlier than annuals and last longer into the fall. They also offer long-term cost benefits, returning year after year and even providing the option to divide plants to create new ones, unlike annuals, which must be replaced each season.
We continued expanding our use of seeds as an alternative to annual flats. In addition to the bed at Children’s Hospital, we seeded the bed in front of the KAB office. The cost savings are significant, but the results were equally impressive. We were delighted to see “unexpected guests” germinate from previous years, including verbena, cleome, and ageratum. For the first time, we also planted a bed at Alexander Park with a Bee and Butterfly mix.
Alongside the twenty sites we planted and cared for in 2025, we reactivated an old Flowerscape site at the corner of Main Street and MLK Blvd. This site had been abandoned during major intersection construction years ago. Thanks to funding from First Energy and Downtown Akron Partnership, a new irrigation system was installed. Our KAB crew, along with volunteers from First Energy, planted and mulched a perennial pollinator garden in mid-June. As with any new perennial planting, it will take time to fully develop. Birds, bees, and butterflies are already enjoying it.
We also partnered with the Akron Bicentennial Committee to plant 15,000 daffodil bulbs in parks and other city sites. Most bulbs went in during fall 2024, but because the ground froze early, we finished planting in March 2025 and they still bloomed beautifully. Daffodils are incredible. They multiply and can continue growing for up to 80 years, ensuring they will be around for Akron’s next big anniversary. These sites have been added to KAB’s Daffodil Tour. This year, we added three new sites. Kenmore Blvd. and Diamond Crystal Park each received 1,000 bulbs thanks to funding and volunteers from Cargill Salt. At our new garden at Main and MLK, KAB planted 400 Martha Stewart Large Cup daffodils, and Waters Park received 2,500 more Dutch Master trumpet daffodils with support from S&T Bank, bringing the total there to about 20,000 daffodils.
Finally, we partnered with Akron Parks and Recreation and Akron Parks Collaborative to plant 400 native plant plugs in Akron’s first wildflower area at Hardesty Park as part of the City Meadows program.
History of Flowerscape
Flowerscape began in 1982, when Judy Isroff, KAB’s Executive Coordinator, believed Akron could follow in the footsteps of its neighbor to the north, Cuyahoga Falls, by creating a vibrant public beautification program. With her vision and leadership, she convinced the KAB Board of Trustees that such an initiative was both possible and worthwhile.
KAB hired its first part-time Flowerscape Director and partnered with the Portage Path Mental Health Center to provide a labor force. That first year, the program planted approximately 17,250 flowers at a total cost of $2,020.12. With support from the City Planning Department, Flowerscape launched with seven initial planting locations:
- Main Street Planters
- South Main Street Median at Goodrich
- West Market Street & Rand at the Innerbelt corner
- Derby Downs
- Broadway & South triangle near the expressway
- Voris & Broadway expressway exits (two sites)
- Grant Street beds at Exchange, Wheeler (six beds), and Triplett Blvd
Over time, Flowerscape expanded from these seven sites into one of Akron’s most cherished visual assets.
The annual flower budget has grown from $2,000 to over $18,000, and since 1982, more than one million flowers have been planted to brighten the city.
By 2012, Flowerscape featured displays on every traffic island, downtown corner, and expressway ramp. Additional installations enhanced Alexander Park, Cotter Park, Lock 3 Park, and the Judith Bear Isroff Park. That year alone, 39 beautification sites showcased more than 36,000 plants, all maintained through advanced computerized irrigation systems. In 2013, the Flowerscape budget reached $140,000, and through continued efficiency and professionalization, the program has been able to maintain stable costs in the years since.
The impact of these colorful oases extends far beyond their visual appeal—they inspire pride, strengthen neighborhoods, and showcase Akron’s commitment to beauty and community. Because Flowerscape is a public program, ongoing private-sector support is essential, and supplemental funding must be raised annually to keep these gardens thriving.
Today, the Flowerscape program is led by a full-time Flowerscape Director who spends months designing landscape plans and coordinating plant orders. As Clean Up Akron Month (April) approaches—our largest volunteer effort of the year—our two-person crew works alongside the director to prepare beds for another season of stunning blooms.
Thank you to our Flowerscape Sponsors
The Orr Family Foundation sponsors the Howard & Ridge Street corner (Cuyahoga Valley Railway Station).
Akron Children’s Hospital sponsors the Flowerscape at E. Exchange and Dart.
The Orr Family Foundation sponsors the Glendale Cemetery site.
Akron Community Foundation sponsors the Flowerscape at Alexander Park.
Downtown Akron Partnership sponsors the Lion Bed on High St.
We are currently looking for someone to sponsor the Flowerscape site located at Civic Mall – Charles Goodyear Park (across from City Hall).
The Ohio Erie & Canalway Coalition sponsors the bed at Thorton and Dart
The Lehner Family Foundation sponsors the Flowerscape on Main Street from West Market to Exchange.
The Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition sponsors the planter boxes on Pedestrian Bridge.
The Downtown Akron Partnership sponsors the Flowerscape at Hotel Matthews.
The Downtown Akron Partnership sponsors the Flowerscape at the greenspace between Main St. and Cascade Plaza, left of the Huntington building.
The Downtown Akron Partnership sponsors the south side of Church Street, off of High Street near the Municipal Building.
Downtown Akron Partnership sponsors the Flowerscape on top of Cascade Plaza.
The Downtown Akron Partnership sponsors the Flowerscape at High Street, next to the Akron Art Museum and John S. Knight Center.
The Downtown Akron Partnership sponsors the Flowerscape at MLK and Main Street.
Sponsors give $5,500 of support to Keep Akron Beautiful, in order to maintain the Flowerscapes listed. All of the donors are recognized throughout the year on the Flowerscape signs in the respective beds. See more about donors on our Giving Page. Become a Keep Akron Beautiful sponsor today.
