The Flag That Doesn't Fly!
The only flag that does not fly! Between the fields where the flag is planted, there are 9+ miles of flower fields that go all the way to the ocean. The flowers are grown by seed companies. It's a beautiful place, close to Vandenberg AFB. Check out the dimensions of the flag. The Floral Flag is 740 feet long and 390 feet wide and maintains the proper Flag dimensions as described in Executive Order #10834. This Flag is 6.65 acres and is the first Floral Flag to be planted with 5 pointed Stars comprised of White Larkspur. Each Star is 24 feet in diameter. Each Stripe is 30 feet wide. This Flag is estimated to contain more than 400,000 Larkspur plants with 4-5 flower stems each for a total of more than 2 million flowers. You can drive by this flag on V Street south of Ocean Avenue in Lompoc, CA. For our soldiers.... please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our servicemen.
Trace Adkins' "Arlington" USA Military Tribute
The History of Our Great Flower Flag
In 1941, when the nation was deeply engulfed in World War II, Bodger Seed Co.of Lompoc, CA undertook a special tribute to our troops fighting around the world. They planted 600,000 larkspur and calendula flowers in the fields to the west of the city under Lookout Point. The following Spring (1942) the more than nine acres of plants blossomed into what is believed to have been the largest flag in the world. The flag was replanted with different dimensions in 1943, 1945, 1952, 1953 and once again in 2002. The Flower Flag has not been there since 2009 since Bodger Seeds Company closed down and left Lompoc.
Aerial photo courtesy of Bill Morson
Read this fascinating article in the Lompoc Record News
by Glenn Wallace, April 2010
“They certainly were a powerhouse in the industry for many, many years,” said David Lemon, who worked for Bodger from 1984 to 1993. “I think it’s a sad day for Lompoc that Bodger has closed down.
"It’s 60 years exactly from the planting of the first one," said Howard Bodger, president of Bodger Seeds, Ltd. "The first time, it was a spontaneous response to a war. This time is also a reaction to a war. I hope when people view it, they will feel patriotic in the same way as they do when they put a flag on their car."
Historical article in the Santa Maria Times
by Katherine McDonald, January 2002
"LOMPOC 77 Patriotism has blossomed all over the United States since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, but nowhere so beautifully as it will in the Lompoc Valley this summer."
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