Wildflower seeds were planted recently alongside Highway 69/75 in the area of the Washington Avenue exit near the high school.
Earlier this year, the City of Durant and the Durant Fortnightly Club received a grant from Color Oklahoma to plant the seeds. The grant, counting matching funds, is $3,000.
“I applied for a grant through the Color Oklahoma Board in the State of Oklahoma and we received the grant,” said Charlene Ridgway, General Federation of Women’s Club of Oklahoma state president. “I partnered with the City of Durant on this project to beautify our area and it’s for pollinators and it will help cut down on mowing in the City of Durant.
“They are seeding it for the winter and then we should see wildflowers this spring a little bit before during summer, maybe. We’re excited to have this project to beautify Durant, coming into Durant.”
Monica Bartling, state chairperson for Color Oklahoma, said this was the first planting of the wildflower seeds for 2025.
“We’ll plant about $3,000 worth of seeds today, and I’m just happy to be here to plant the seeds,” Bartling said. “Color Oklahoma, our entire mission is to beautify our highways and also increase our pollinators.”
According to Bartling, the seeds were planted in approximately two miles in each director.
“There will be signs that say Color Oklahoma,” Bartling said. “So, if people want to come by and look, they can look for the Color Oklahoma signs.”
Ty House, area manager for Oklahoma Department of Transportation, said he there were four ODOT crew members to plant the seeds and the project was expected to take a few hours.
“We’re planting wildflowers for the Color Oklahoma program,” House said. “We’re doing what we can to help out.”
Ridgway looks forward to the flowers growing.
“We will begin to see some color in April, more color in May, and full color in June,” she said.
