Visitors > Photo Gallery > City of Flowers
City of Flowers
In 1956, the Garden Club of Old Towne Annapolis decided to encourage a European tradition occasionally observed by flower lovers in this historic community. They sponsored an annual May Day basket competition, urging residents and businesses to put out fresh flowers to welcome the spring.
Through the years, the creativity of the floral displays has carried beyond the traditional basket on the door to other receptacles displayed on architectural details or antique tables on porches. It also reached beyond the Historic District, with May baskets also adorning homes and businesses in Eastport and West Annapolis.
A part of the tradition is the flower market, with a festively decorated Maypole, at the City's Market House, sponsored by the Four Rivers Garden Club, on April 30th. Many baskets are filled with the fresh cut local flowers and greens from the market.
The Gardens of Annapolis
Whether it is in a single container pot, or an elegant formal landscape bordered by boxwoods, artistry abounds in the gardens of Annapolis. The same baroque layout that gives prominence to structures in city circles creates small hidden area in the crooks of radiating streets. So a walk around town and through alleys is a delight when encountering small gardens along brick walls or behind wrought iron fences.
Stately mansions, government buildings and historic churches are also tended with seasonal plantings that accent their public spaces.
Large and small, structured or cottage, perennial, herb, or woodland, the gardens of Annapolis are a complement to the architecture and ambiance of the City.
Seasonal Baskets
In 1999, the Annapolis Business Association envisioned decorating the downtown shopping district with hanging baskets of colorful flowers. Although not without controversy, their request for a limited number of baskets along Main Street was granted .
The instant popularity of the beautiful baskets, designed and maintained by Homestead Gardens, was such that the following year more baskets and standing planters were added. The program expanded to the streets around the City's distinctive circles, reaching out West Street to eventually include the new Westgate Circle.
From May until October, the vivid colors splash across panorama of the Historic District and spill onto the sidewalks. They have an attraction in themselves, and are often featured as accents in pictures of historic buildings.
The baskets and planters are funded by contributions from the business community, grants from sponsors, and semi-annual fundraisers supported by the many Annapolitans who enjoy their beauty.
2006 May Baskets
2005 May Flowers
2004 Greenscape
On April 17, 2004, the 13th annual GreenScape took place in Annapolis under sunny skies.
Nearly a thousand volunteers cleaned, planted, mulched and raked on sixty projects throughout the City. The congregated in parks, schools, churches, and neighborhood spaces.
Annapolis is a more beautiful place thanks to those who give of themselves on GreenScape Day . . . . and throughout the season.
2004 Annapolis In Bloom
Annapolis begins to bloom every spring. By summer, it is awash in color. Join Gretta Walters for a walk through the downtown as she visits the baskets, planters, and gardens that gave Annapolis its seasonal beauty in 2004.
2003 May Baskets
Here are some of the baskets from May Day, 2003