While incorporated cities await enhancement actions initiated by their councils, our unincorporated villages in Citrus County rely on the Board of County Commissioners to initiate actions that improve our surroundings and quality of life.

Putting the Floral in Floral City

Over the years, Floral City has taken some of that responsibility into their own hands by engaging Visioning Workshops, fund raising, graphic designs and manual labor to enhance the village. Two of those projects included the Gazebo Site on the Withlacoochee State Trail and the design of the Town Center.

Now the community has assumed the missions of “Putting the Floral into Floral City,” of enhancing the vacant NE corner of US 41/ Orange Avenue and of replacing the standard street signs with antique-style signage along Orange Avenue in the National Historic District. Lead by the joint planning, funding and labor of the FFGC Floral City Garden Club and the Floral City
Heritage Council, the community will be seeing some much needed improvements.

The Garden Club has worked the past forty years, planting flower beds throughout the downtown area. It has been a labor-intensive challenge – planting and carrying water. Over a year ago a member (of both organizations) suggested that since Ocala has its horse sculptures; Lakeland its swans; Crystal River its manatees and Inverness its tortoises, it might be appropriate for Floral City to consider “Floral Sculptures.”

Recently, more than three dozen large three to five-foot metal flowers were purchased, painted, and readied to be cemented into tall pots for placement in the three ovals within the Town Center and at the traffic light corner on US 41. These colorful “flower pots” should add a visual connection to the town’s name while adding artful color to the Town Center.

Long an eye-sore, even before the dilapidated building was removed, the prime corner of Floral City at the traffic light, was in need of improvement. The plan is to outline the area in wooden 6′ by 6′ timbers greatly discounted by Lowe’s manager Tim Graff, cover the area in fine crushed stone donated by William Hooper owner of Woody Company, and add benches, floral sculpture, and decorative water fountain.

To enhance the county’s only National Historic District, two anonymous donations and a generous donation from Duke Energy will fund the replacement of the standard county street name signage with antique-style posts and signs along ten intersecting streets on Orange Avenue.

Directional signage will also be installed near the Town Center in the turn-of-the-20 th century–style. Some area businesses and individuals who have stepped forward to assist with the traffic light corner and the Floral

Sculptures are listed here to date in alphabetical order:
Ace Hardware Inverness, Phillip Anderson, Anonymous, Pam & Murray Atkinson, Lynn & H. D. Bassett, Marcia Beasley, Pam Bellman, Karen Morton-Century 21, Georgie & David Conrad, Coping with Dementia LLC, Crossland Realty, Jeane DeFelice, Harvey & Astrid Dunn, Diane & Jim
Freund, Floral City Garden Club, Mary Graff, Dr. John Gelin, Jeanette Hagg, Terri & Dave Hartman, Laura & Pete Hennings, Ralph Johnson, Carol Kanka, Bill & Susie Metcalfe, Amber & Harvey Persyn, Red Brick Place, Linda & Dennis Reiland, Paulette & Tom Ritchie, Winnie Schrieber & Steve Cox, Janie Stewart, Donna & Gary Thomas, Sharon & Ken Thompson, Janet & Bill Weber, Carol & Kelley Wood.

If others would like to contribute to this enhancement- an informational marquee is desired – donations may provide tax deductions and will be gratefully accepted by the Floral City Heritage Council and may be sent to P.O. Box 328, Floral City, FL 34436.