Red wave washes over Resort
BILL BULEY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 3 months AGO
Kayoko Cameron, The Resort director of sales, plants geraniums on Tuesday in front of The Coeur d'Alene Resort.
BILL BULEY/Press
Rick Powers plants geraniums in front of the Hagadone Corp. headquarters on Tuesday with The Resort in the background.
Bernadette Dunphy plants geraniums on Tuesday in front of The Coeur d'Alene Resort.
Scott Murphy, landscaping manager, pushes a cart of geraniums on Tuesday.
An employee wears the Geranium Day shirt at The Coeur d'Alene Resort on Tuesday.
John Eloe and Hannah Jones smile on Geranium Day at The Resort on Tuesday.
David Brown uses an auger to drill holes to plan geraniums on Tuesday.
Brad Banta, housekeeping manager, plants geraniums on Tuesday in front of the Hagadone Corp. headquarters.
The trophy waits to go to the winning department at The Coeur d'Alene Resort on Geranium Day.
An employee wears the Geranium Day shirt at The Coeur d'Alene Resort on Tuesday.
Beverly's Executive Chef Jim Barrett plants a geranium on Tuesday outside The Resort.
Bill Buley covers the city of Coeur d'Alene for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He has worked here since January 2020, after spending seven years on Kauai as editor-in-chief of The Garden Island newspaper. He enjoys running. | May 14, 2025 1:09 AM
Coeur d’Alene Resort employees stormed Geranium Hill on a cloudy Tuesday.
In their wake, they left a wave of 5,000 red geraniums.
Victory was theirs.
“My favorite part is the reward at the end, to be able to look back and see this,” said David Brown, who wielded an auger much of the morning.
About 50 volunteers, wearing T-shirts with the words, “Painting the Town Red,” joined the annual Geranium Day effort, two days after Mother’s Day.
In less than two hours, they planted about 15,000 of the hardy flowers in front of The Resort and around the Boardwalk Marina, Hagadone Corp. Headquarters, The Resort Golf Course, Hagadone Event Center and other company properties.
While the different departments were competing for the “Grand Champion Gardeners” trophy by being the fastest and the best geranium planters, they shared a camaraderie to carry on a decade-old tradition that benefits the city.
“It’s so something bigger than yourself,” said Heather Waites. “You feel part of the community.”
Resort President Bill Reagan was in the mix as usual, down in the dirt with staff as they dug holes and planted the vibrant geraniums about 6 inches apart.
It was a good show, as guests watched and locals drove by to check it out and take pictures.
“They love it,” Reagan said. “You just don’t see the big splash of flowers like we have here.”
Geranium Day’s roots can be followed to The Resort founder, the late Duane Hagadone.
“His mom was quite the gardener and this was one of her favorite flowers, so it became Duane’s favorite flower,” Reagan said.
Initially, lines of geraniums were planted the length of the driveway leading to The Resort. But Hagadone had a vision to make a bigger splash and soon, they were planted in batches.
“That’s what brought about the big beds that we do as opposed to the thin rows we used to do in the past,” Reagan said.
The geraniums are grown in Lima Greenhouses, based in Spokane. They are strong and healthy, able to weather North Idaho summer extremes and expected to show off until October.
Reagan said they require a lot of care in terms of watering, fertilizing and pruning.
"It’s a pretty labor-intensive plant, but it’s worth it,” Reagan said.
Kayoko Cameron, director of sales, joked she deserved an award for being the dirtiest one of all the crew.
After nearly three decades, she has learned the key to a successful Geranium Day: She clears her mind, focuses and thinks of nothing else.
“Get a rhythm going, get a cadence and keep going,” she said.
Scott Murphy, landscaping manager, said the operation went smoothly, helped by the drizzly, cool conditions.
“If it was 100 degrees, it would be worse,” he said.
Geranium Day will only grow from here.
“In two more years, these flowers will cross the street,” Reagan said, referencing the company’s 15-story, 139-room Sherman Tower project underway on Sherman Avenue. “We're going to have to find some more people then."
Rick Powers plants geraniums in front of the Hagadone Corp. headquarters on Tuesday with The Resort in the background.
Bernadette Dunphy plants geraniums on Tuesday in front of The Coeur d'Alene Resort.
Scott Murphy, landscaping manager, pushes a cart of geraniums on Tuesday.
An employee wears the Geranium Day shirt at The Coeur d'Alene Resort on Tuesday.
John Eloe and Hannah Jones smile on Geranium Day at The Resort on Tuesday.
David Brown uses an auger to drill holes to plan geraniums on Tuesday.
Brad Banta, housekeeping manager, plants geraniums on Tuesday in front of the Hagadone Corp. headquarters.
The trophy waits to go to the winning department at The Coeur d'Alene Resort on Geranium Day.
Beverly's Executive Chef Jim Barrett plants a geranium on Tuesday outside The Resort.ARTICLES BY BILL BULEY
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