The hanging flower baskets lining Lake Oswego's streets are not paid for by the city.

A majority of funding comes from local businesses and hundreds of residents who donate to the Lake Oswego Chamber Foundation.

The Village Flower Basket program, now in its 36th year, puts more than 200 baskets on city poles each May and keeps them blooming through the beginning of October.

Each basket costs $400 to plant, hang and maintain for the season. Donations are tax-deductible.

The Lake Oswego Review profiled the program Saturday, Aug. 29, detailing how one local family has kept the baskets growing since the program launched.

Doug Oliphant, Bill Gerber and Mike Buck founded the program in 1990 after seeing hanging baskets in Victoria, British Columbia.

The Garden Corner, a Lake Oswego nursery owned by Jonn Karsseboom, has assembled and grown every basket since that first year. His daughter, Hannah, and his wife, Tracy, lead the planting operation.

Work is year-round.

Old root balls and foliage are composted after each season's baskets come down.

The compost piles "can each reach about the size of a large tour bus," Karsseboom told the Review.

Plant combinations are planned months ahead, and starter plants arrive in February. By mid-May, the baskets are ready to hang.

Lake Oswego was the first city to adopt water-wise baskets, according to the Review.

Each basket holds a three-gallon water reservoir that helps plants survive extreme heat while reducing water use. Once the baskets go up, a Garden Corner crew member checks them daily, watering, fertilizing and applying pest control through early October.

The program also receives new plant varieties, including some not yet available to the general market. Combinations change every year. By September, the baskets reach their peak, overflowing with blooms.

Business leaders serve on the Village Flower Basket committee each year, city officials help plan pole locations, and police officers assist during installation and removal.

Residents who want to support the program can donate through the Lake Oswego Chamber Foundation at 503-636-3634.

Upcoming community events

Lake Oswego's annual car tour benefiting OHSU dental scholarships takes place Sept. 12.