Description

This public art project was a percent for art commission for the newly constructed park located in what was once considered the “barrio” of Carlsbad where there was a large and strong agricultural presence. Standing tall as megalithic “stele”, these sculptures commemorate just five of the flowers that were once cultivated there:  Bird of Paradise, Gladiola, Poinsettia, Ranunculas and Zinnia. Each larger than life flower sculpture, has colorful mosaics adhered on the front and backsides, to the solid cast-concrete forms, and each weighs over one ton. Carlsbad was once considered to be the commercial flower growing capitol of the United States.  

BRIEF FLOWER HISTORY IN CARLSBAD:  There were many more varieties of flowers that were grown in the area, but the artist selected these five. Each sculpture has their respective history engraved on a commemorative tile on the surrounding seat walls. Here written is the unique story about each flower once commercially grown in Carlsbad, researched and written by Kim Emerson:

BIRD OF PARADISE (Strelitzia reginae) - 

Place of Origin: South Africa

Clint Pedley of Carlsbad received some “bird” seeds in 1934 as partial payment of an old debt. His brother had obtained additional plants from Kate Sessions who was San Diego’s pioneer horticulturalist. The Bird of Paradise was adopted as the official City flower when Carlsbad was incorporated in 1952.

GLADIOLUS (Grandiflora hybrid) -

Place of Origin: South Africa

The English horticulturalist Luther Gage was one of the pioneers of the flower industry in Carlsbad. He moved to the area in 1921 bringing a variety of different flower seeds with him. He was the first grower to produce winter gladiolus. Gladiolus were considered the “wedding flower” of the day. Like other commercially grown flowers, they were grown, boxed and shipped to market in Los Angeles and elsewhere around the country.

ZINNIA (Zinnia elegans) - 

Place of Origin:  Mexico

Beginning in 1934, Charles Ledgerwood’s ocean view garden and seed store on Carlsbad Boulevard sold bulk seeds in small quantities to locals, tourists, and growers from San Diego, Riverside and Imperial Counties. His seeds were also sold and shipped all around the country. Mr. Ledgerwood later became the Mayor of Carlsbad in 1958-59.

POINSETTIA (Euphorbia pulcherrima) - 

Place of Origin:  Mexico

The Poinsettia was first brought to Carlsbad in 1932. Paul Ecke established one of the first commercial Poinsettia farms in the US. It was located along the sea cliffs south of the Encino Power Plant. One year, a week before Christmas, a very cold storm ruined the crops that were at that time grown without cover. Since then, the Ecke family has grown these bright red flowers in greenhouses, and the Eckes are recognized as the leading producer of Poinsettias.

Ranunculus (Tecolote ranunculus) - 

Place of Origin:  Asia Minor

Luther Gage provided the Frazee family the first little bag of ranunculus seeds in 1922. At age 16 in 1933, Edwin Frazee went to work full time on the family ranch. Edwin is known for the hybridization of the ranunculus from a single petal to a double petal flower. He searched the world over for the best climate and soil conditions, and determined that the best place was in the coastal climate of Carlsbad. Thanks to the friendship and generosity of the Ecke family, “The Flower Fields” continues to be a very special gift to the community of Carlsbad as well as to those who come to visit from all over the world.

A special THANK YOU goes to the following: the artist’s husband Dennis Reiter who is an amazing artist, business partner and photographer, the City of Carlsbad, the former Quarry Tile of Spokane, WA for the ceramic tile, Woody Woodburn of ProFoam, Inc. for the fabrication of the EPS concrete forms, Bill Damme of Sundt Construction, Inc. for casting the concrete forms and overseeing the installation, structural engineering by Andy Sanford of Simon Wong Engineering, Bob’s Crane Service for the transportation and crane installation, last but not least – Glen Schmidt of Schmidt Design Group for the design of this beautiful park, and for this public art opportunity to create something meaningful for the City of Carlsbad.