Home to hundreds of baby blue eyes and poppies of varying color is Kenai's Field of Flowers.
The field on Lawton Drive nourishes several types of perennials that survive in arctic climates, and has seen a sort of revamp this season. The Kenai Municipal Airport donated the land years ago, and city staff and volunteers manage the property.
“When they initially did it, it looked like this, maybe even better," said Tyler Best, Kenai’s parks and recreation director. "It was all flowers, it looked amazing. People did family photos, people did senior photos, people had picnics, people deviated walking down Lawton onto the Field of Flowers. And then, all of sudden, the weeds started taking over, and that was a struggle for years and years.”
Last year, the Field of Flowers had no flowers. The city didn’t even plant any seeds. Instead, the field was tilled and soil was treated to kill any seeds, including those of crabgrass and other unwanted weeds. Best says the field was replanted this season.
Throughout this summer, city staff have maintained the field by watering it with a long, tall sprinkler on wheels, connected to a fire hydrant. Because the city’s parks and recreation department is so small, they don’t have enough employees to pull weeds from the field. Best says this means the weeds inevitably take over, so they have to kill the seed bank every three to five years.
“I think it's just gorgeous," he said. "When I used to be a barista at a cafe, we always said people would come in and you eat with your eyes. You have display food, you see a nice area and that’s where you want to be, and I think the city does a really good job of keeping our city beautiful and pretty. The parks staff works really hard that when you drive into Kenai, you see how beautiful the city is.”
Best says the community’s response to the field’s revitalization this season has been positive. He says members of the community are back to enjoying the park and its many flowers.
“We want to keep it beautiful, and I’m glad that our off year helped a lot,” Best said.
Next, Best wants to have a picnic table in the field, so people can really take the time to admire the work that the city – and the bees – have been doing.
