Roses, dahlias, marigolds and a Charlie Card.
Waiting for the bus has never been so fragrant as it became on Tuesday and Wednesday this week when the “Flower Bomb” hit the Everett Square School Street southbound bus stop.
As part of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) initiative from the Barr Foundation – which working with the City has brought level-boarding and the dedicated bus lane – the Flower Bomb was brought by Best of Boston florist Krissy Price of Boston Pollen.
Price and an assistant set up the flowers on Monday night at the stop, drawing the attention of many passing by and many taking the late buses. By Tuesday morning, the bus stop was lush with flowers.
“Not only are we making transportation in Everett more accessible and comfortable, but we are actually making it a place that is attractive and where people want to be,” said Mayor Carlo DeMaria. “Hopefully the Flower Bomb will raise awareness of our rapid transit system and get more people out of their cars and into public transit.”
Price said she has done smaller-scale flower bombs at Boston bus stops, but has never been able to work on a full-scale installation until now.
“This is a project I’ve been working on quite a long time,” she said on Tuesday. “I’m very excited it was all able to come to fruition in Everett. The City has been excited about it and an amazing partner. People were just really excited to see it on Tuesday and were happy it was there.”
One woman at the stop on Tuesday told Price she was so excited about the Flower Bomb that she wanted to stay for a while. After taking several pictures with those involved, the woman hung out for about 20 minutes enjoying the flowers as intended.
Price said she wanted the flowers at the stop to feel like they were naturally there, as if the bus stop was overgrown with colorful, summery flowers. She used roses, dahlias, marigolds, delphinium and others, with each of them being sourced from a New England farm or a female-owned wholesaler.
The purpose, of course, is to continue the momentum around the City’s BRT initiatives – the most recent being the level boarding and the one coming next being the transit signal priority.
The hope is that excitement generated from small gestures like the Flower Bomb will keep the momentum moving, with the ultimate goal being to get more Everett residents taking the bus into Boston or beyond and out of their cars.
“It makes me feel great to see people appreciate the effort I put into it,” said Price.
The flowers will come down at the end of Wednesday and will be given to riders and local businesses.