From Left: Lisa Adkins, Sorosis Club; Calvin Fite, Williams Landscape; Roy Bartling, Chair, Waurika Development Trust; Ginger Fitzgerald, President, Sorosis Club; Craig Williams, owner, Williams Landscape, John O. Parrish, Williams Landscape; Kevin Chumley, ODOT, Monica Bartling, Chair, Color Oklahoma; Melissa Tilley, Acting Waurika City Manager; Billy Martin, Superintendent, Jefferson County Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) are anticipating the spring wildflowers planted by ODOT on Dec. 3 and sponsored by Color Oklahoma and the GFWC-OK Waurika Sorosis Club.

By Monica Bartling, Chair, Color Oklahoma

Waurika, OK, Dec. 9, 2024 For the seventh year, the GFWC-OK Waurika Sorosis Club partnered with Color Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the City of Waurika to plant wildflower seeds at all entrances to Waurika and at the Welcome to Oklahoma signs at both points across the Red River into Jefferson County. Just under 200 total pounds of seeds were planted with 136 lbs. coming from Color Oklahoma and just over 50 lbs. provided by Craig Williams of Williams Landscape.  All seeds were purchased from Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, Texas. Only seeds native to Oklahoma were purchased.

The Waurika Sorosis Club received a $1,500 grant from Color Oklahoma to purchase the wildflower seeds for the areas around Waurika.   Bartling Ranch was also a contributor to the project.  Color Oklahoma contributed another $2,500 for additional seeds that were planted in other areas of Jefferson County.

Planting Wildflowers helps beautify our highways and interstates across Oklahoma, and also provides food for pollinators. According to the National Wildlife Federation planting wildflower plots is one way to help bees and other pollinators at a local level. Color Oklahoma provided seeds for planting more than 517 pounds of seeds in 9 Oklahoma communities this December and early January.  Seeds are planted in the cold weather because they require a period of cold, moist conditions to break down naturally occurring chemicals in the seeds that inhibit germination. These substances protect the seeds from germinating prematurely such that they wait until the following spring to sprout. This process is called cold stratification.

Color Oklahoma is working toward planting wildflowers all along US HWY 81 from Terral, OK to Renfrow, OK.  This multi-year plan was furthered this year by plantings in Duncan north of Plato Road and in Rush Springs north of the OK HWY 17/US Hwy 81 intersection at the flashing light in Rush Springs.  All these plantings are in the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) Field District 7, under the supervision of District Maintenance Engineer, Cole Vonfeldt and local ODOT county superintendents, Rick Davis in Grady County, Brian Herring in Stephens County and Billy Martin in Jefferson County. Billy Martin has supervised the planting in Jefferson County for all seven years and has been instrumental in the growth of the project from planting about 43 pounds of seeds in 2018 to almost 200 lbs. in 2024.

Color Oklahoma was formed in 2002 and receives funding from the sale of wildflower license plates available at your local tag agency or from Service Oklahoma.  The form to order a plate can also be downloaded from the Color Oklahoma website at https://coloroklahoma.com/color-oklahoma-license-plate-order-form/.  If you would like more information on how your municipality or organization can obtain a grant to plant wildflowers in your area, go to coloroklahoma.com or email coloroklahoma@gmail.com.