Planting Day at Sunken Garden in Rapid City

RAPID CITY, S.D. — Flowers don’t plant themselves, so a Parks and Recreation crew from Rapid City got dirty Tuesday morning for planting day at Sunken Gardens.

In April, the Rapid City landscaping crew began the city’s beautification process. Nearly 27,000 flower plugs were planted, raised to flowering status, and readied for planting day. The flowers are a combination of Coleus, Zinnia, and Salvia flowers. Originally scheduled for Monday, conditions were poor for planting.

“As I was driving into work, I noticed piles of hail left over from Sunday’s storm,” said Rapid City greenhouse specialist, John Berglund. “So we just decided to pause it for a day.”

Sunken Gardens is flowered every year, and has become a popular spot for tourists and locals alike.

“It’s a great place to come out, it’s really quiet,” said Berglund. “I’ve seen people have weddings down here, I‘ve seen senior pictures taken down here, so it’s a really nice place. And hopefully this year, we’ll present it as good as years in the past.”

Despite the difficulty many businesses have faced hiring employees, Parks and Recreation has not had an issue. The team is fully staffed with excited crew members, happy to be getting their daily dose of vitamin D.

“I’ve been doing this like the past four summers,” said crew member Marleah McClain. “I am in school, so it’s just like a summer job for me, but I come back every year. I love it. It’s so fun to me to be outside all day, especially this week. It’s my favorite week, I love planting week.”

McClain says there is also a garden crew for 14- and 15-year-olds, where she started. She says it’s a great summer job, and encourages other young people to try it. All 27,000 flowers are expected to be planted by mid-June, weather permitting.