Floral clock

A floral clock or flower clock is a large decorative clock with the clock face formed by carpet bedding, usually found in a park or other public recreation area.

The first floral clock was the idea of John McHattie of Edinburgh Parks and the clockmaker James Ritchie. It was first planted up in UK in the spring of 1903 in West Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, though such floral clock already existed in 1900 in Switzerland and more precisely in the village of Les Avants above Montreux. In that year it had only an hour hand but a minute hand was added the following year. A cuckoo which popped out every hour was added in 1905. The clock was soon imitated across the United Kingdom and later throughout the world.

In Edinburgh the clock mechanism is set inside the plinth of the statue to Allan Ramsay adjacent. The first mechanism using salvaged parts from Elie Parish Church in Fife was installed by Ritchie. A new mechanism was installed in 1934 and is still maintained by Ritchie's company.

Floral clock (Frankfort, Kentucky)

Coordinates: 38°11′9.60″N 84°52′34.98″W / 38.1860000°N 84.8763833°W / 38.1860000; -84.8763833

The floral clock in Frankfort, Kentucky, is a landmark located behind the Kentucky State Capitol. Dedicated in May 1961 by Governor Bert T. Combs, the clock was constructed as a joint project between the state government and the Garden Club of Kentucky.

History

On April 10, 1961, Combs appropriated $50,000 from the governor's contingency fund to construct the clock on the lawn of the state capitol. Combs had seen a similar clock in Edinburgh, Scotland, and believed it would be a colorful addition to the capitol grounds. When construction was completed on the clock, some ridiculed it as "Combs' Folly" or "Big Bert" (an allusion to London's Big Ben). Combs' political foe, A. B. "Happy" Chandler, was particularly critical, declaring "It's amazing what some people will think of when they have nothing better to do." In a subsequent gubernatorial campaign, Chandler mocked the clock, declaring "Well, they don't say it's half past 2 in Frankfort anymore. They say it's two petunias past the jimson weed." Chandler's derision became the minority view in time, however; according to journalist John Ed Pearce, the clock became one of the most talked-about and visited tourist attractions in the state and the most visited place in Frankfort.