Plants with a purpose: How Tulsa is using wildflowers to save money

The City of Tulsa is using wildflowers to help save taxpayer money. Here’s how it works.

The Seeds

Crews with the city’s stormwater division planted watershed wildflower meadow seeds across ten acres of land near Tulsa International Airport. Officials then wait and let the flowers bloom, hoping that, in addition to some color, the plants can give the city back some green.

The Savings

Specifically, savings when it comes to mowing. It costs $5,000 to plant the flowers. It’s about the same as it would cost to mow the area used as part of this pilot program. Crews hope to save maintenance costs in the long term.

The Highways

The Native Plant Society and ODOT have been using a similar program for years, planting wildflowers along highways across the state.