Flower Power

KELLOGG — Famed poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “flowers are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities in the world.”

A floral balcony display greets you as you reach the top of Mckinley Avenue in Kellogg in front of Uptown Hair Studio. The garden is a passion project of Lynnette Vanbuskirk, who lives in the apartment above the studio with her husband, and works as a hairdresser in the shop below.

“It’s the only way I have to garden,” Vanbuskirk explained, “I have no lawn, I live in that apartment, but I have such a passion for gardening.”

This is the second summer Vanbuskirk has had the large floral display, composed mainly of petunias, with some accented sweet potato vines, lemon coral sedum, coleus plants, and dahlias.

“It’s about 95% petunias,” she explained, “I think there are about 74 containers.”

She paused and laughed, “Wow. That’s a lot of flowers.”

Vanbuskirk was inspired by beautiful images on social media of similar setups. Balcony and patio gardening is becoming increasingly popular as people who move into smaller spaces still want to have room to garden.

“I hand water the flowers unless I’m in a hurry, then I hang off the balconies with a hose and just spray everything down. I’ll fertilize the plants once a week. Almost every morning you can find me outside with a garden hose.”

The unexpected tourism boost for Kellogg has been a welcome addition to this passion project.

“Even though it might not have been my first impulse to do it for tourism, it’s such a joy in the evening to welcome and visit with people walking, biking, or driving by.”

Summers in Kellogg revolve around Silver Mountain, but one of the popular new locales for visitors to check out takes them right past Vanbuskirk’s beautiful floral display.

“There is almost a highway from Silver Mountain to Radio Brewing Company,” she said. “People drive by, bike, or walk by and we just have the best conversations. I had no idea there were so many tourists strolling by. I’ve met some of the nicest people this summer.”

The floral display is at Uptown Hair Studio at 106 McKinley Avenue in Kellogg.