HELENA - It's that time of year again: It's time to plant the state of Montana flower bed that graces the north lawn of the Capitol.
"This is actually an annual event that started in 1970, and it was actually the idea of First Lady Evelyn Anderson. So this will be our 53rd year of planting flowers on the north lawn of the capital," said General Services Administrator at the Montana Department of Administration Stephen Baiamonte.
Every year since then, right before the summer season, thousands of flowers are planted in front of the State Capitol Building.
"We actually have 5,200 individual flowers, and there's two different varieties here: There's the bright flowers, those are Marigolds, and we have another plant called Dusty Miller. They're all sourced locally, these all came this year from a vendor out of Manhattan," said Baiamonte.
The process typically starts in the fall, with the removal of the previous year's flowers. After that, the first step is coming up with a new, unique design, and then they'll put in the bids for the flowers they will need in the Spring.
"Once we know what the design is going to be, it gives us a better idea of how many different varieties of flowers will need, and the different types and we try to keep in mind something that's going to be visually appealing, that still maintains the respect and dignity of the Capitol, but something that you can see from far away," said Baiamonte.
This year's design includes open skies and rolling mountains, along with Montana spelled out along the top, followed by the year, near the bottom of the flower bed.
While it's hard work, that takes hours of labor, the team takes pride in a finished project that both showcases and complements the people's house.
"Our employees, actually, you know put in about 40 man-hours into this today," said Baiamonte, "and it's probably one of their favorite events to pull this off because it's so satisfying when it's done."
