Floral Attraction on Display at Christiana Library

"I first saw one of these in Luzerne, Switzerland; they call them flower columns," said Robin Coffroth, when describing the new flower tower that he created at Moores Memorial Library. "As soon as I saw one, I said we have to have one of these in Christiana."

Robin, president of the library board of directors, and his wife, Kathy, created the 6-foot-tall flower tower, which is covered mostly in inpatients along with petunias and other flower varieties.

They began the effort to replicate the flower column this past spring by contacting officials in Switzerland. "We were on a river boat cruise. We started in Amsterdam and went down the Rhine River to Switzerland. This (flower tower) is 6 feet high, and theirs there were 3 or 4 feet higher," Robin explained, noting that flower columns are prominent along the city streets in Switzerland. "They have a whole department of people who do this. I picked a name in Luzerne city government and sent an email. (The email recipient) put me in touch with the head of urban greenery."

Next, Robin had a frame constructed by local metal fabricator John Miller. "(The contact) in Switzerland sent me a picture of one without anything on it - just the frame. I took that picture to J. Miller Ag Equipment in Christiana," he noted. "I asked if (John) could make me one, and he liked the challenge. He made one that was perfect."

After securing the frame in the existing flower bed near the library's entrance, the couple began to fill it with potting soil in preparation for planting. "It's a metal frame, wrapped with landscaping fabric. It is hollow inside, and we filled it with dirt," Robin said, noting that the frame weighs 180 pounds.

When it took too much soil to fill the frame, they found a handy substitute. "We got good potting mix, and we found out we were using a lot, and we only needed the dirt on the perimeter. So, my wife and I filled in some of that space with pool noodles. We happened to have a bunch of pool noodles, and they work because they don't absorb water," he said, adding. "We cut little holes in the fabric, and we got flats of inpatients, and each (plant) went into a little hole."

Robin also devised a way to water the flower tower when rain does not provide water for it. "There is 4-inch perforated pipe that runs the whole way down to water it," he noted. "The tower is watered from the top, and it seeps out through the rest of it."

Robin, who previously planted the library's flower beds, is pleased with how the flower tower turned out. "It was an experiment, and we tried it, and it has worked pretty well so far," he stated, noting that he and Kathy plan to replant the flower tower next spring.

"The patrons love it," added library director Trish Vandenbosch.

Moores Memorial Library is located at 9 W. Slokom Ave., Christiana.