August 13, 1992 – retired July 19, 2024
In 1992, Robin Walls was working for Monroe County and had just finished designing the Vietnam Memorial at the Monroe County Courthouse. Impressed by Robin’s beautiful landscape design, Steve Ferguson approached Robin and offered him a position at CFC Properties. Robin was ready for a change, accepted Steve’s offer, and joined CFC on August 13, 1992. The Vietnam Memorial, initially designed by Robin, has changed over time. Landscapes are often changing with time due to weather, growth, or evolving preferences.
Upon joining CFC Properties, Robin collaborated closely with Steve Ferguson and Bill Cook. One of the collaborative landscape installations that still retains Robin’s original design, consistent with Bill Cook’s vision, has become iconic in Bloomington and is commonly known as “The Flower Box Wall.” It is located on the East Wall of Fountain Square Bloomington, CFC’s flagship historic property.
Inspired by his experiences in Europe, Bill Cook envisioned colorful flower boxes adorning the walls of Fountain Square Bloomington and the Graham Plaza buildings.
When Bill expressed to Robin that he wanted his vision of colorful flower boxes to be installed at Fountain Square Bloomington, Robin’s first thought was, “How are we going to water them?”. Robin put his landscaping skills to work and designed the beautiful flower boxes, and then engineered an innovative means to water the flowers using a painter’s pole with a half-inch water hose through it connected to a water breaker with two adapters and secured it with duct tape. This watering pole design is still used today.
Robin then found and selected the perfect flower – Wave Petunias. Each spring, roughly 170 pots and 15 flats of Wave Petunias are planted in the flower boxes. These vibrant flowers fill the south side of Bloomington’s historic downtown square with color and ‘wave’ in the spring and summer breeze. Robin understood the tremendous visual effect the flower boxes would have and also that they would be low-maintenance – they do not require dead-heading (removal of old flowers) to continue growing.
One of the most photographed locations in Bloomington, Bill Cook’s vision remains as originally designed. Robin’s Flower Box Wall is truly a masterpiece of color and beauty! You may visit Fountain Square Bloomington to see these beautiful waving flowers between April and October. Additionally, there is a plaque installed on the Lower Level Walnut Street exit doors to commemorate Robin’s achievement and retirement.
CFC Properties relied upon Robin’s horticulture expertise on many projects. In addition to the beautiful wave petunia walls (located on three sides of Fountain Square Bloomington and the Graham Plaza Building), Robin designed the original landscape plan for West Baden Springs Hotel upon the first phase of restoration (1995). He also designed the landscaping for Grant Street Inn. The Kirkwood luxury apartments located in downtown Bloomington were also originally designed and planted by Robin.
CFC Properties has a vast portfolio of properties, and over the years, Robin has contributed to each of those in one way or another. CFC thanks Robin for his many years of horticulture expertise and for his leadership throughout his time at CFC.
Click here to view Steve Ferguson’s farewell to Robin during his retirement party held on June 26, 2024.