Flower Power at Work
-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on August 7, 2025.
Velva Groover is an active member of Floyd Flower Power, a project of The Partnership for Floyd, the non-profit community-focused initiative that brought us Lineberry Park and Floyd’s nature trails.
With a goal of beautifying Floyd and highlighting its native plants, Groover and other Flower Power volunteers have been filling downtown planters with blooms since the spring of 2022.
This year Groover, who studied horticulture at Virginia Tech and worked at Tech as a horticulture technician, enlisted the help of local
teachers and students to beautify the downtown Floyd alcoves with birdhouses, flowers and other decorative touches.
“The high school students are responsible. They grew the plants, planted them and did the design,” Groover said, explaining that the plants were cultivated and planted by horticultural students of Floyd County High School teacher Mr. Roop. The birdhouses were constructed by Mr. Cockram’s 8th-grade Agriscience class and painted by elementary students from Springhouse Elementary School.
“It’s all about getting the students involved. That’s what it’s all about. Everybody involved thought it was a good idea and the kids enjoyed it,” Groover said.
She mentioned getting support from town manager Andrew Morris and that the lumber for the birdhouses was donated by Jim Courtney. The Partnership for Floyd donated money for the plants to support the school’s horticulture program.
“Everybody’s been positive. It’s really been a good experience. I hope to keep it up,” Groover said. – Colleen Redman
Note: Photos were submitted. 1. FCHS Horticulture students with teacher, Mr. Roop (far left). 2. Mr. Cockram’s 8th grade Agri-science class with the birdhouses they built. 3. Students clean out the alcove to prepare for planting. 4. Students plant the flowers they grew. 5. A downtown alcove with plants grown, planted and designed by FCHS students. 6. Another downtown alcove scene. 7. Birdhouses were painted by Springhouse elementary students.