|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
| Home | Classes | Matching Grants | Open Days |
Community
Beautification Sites
Volunteers with the Beautification Brigade work in a number
of public sites in the city of Ithaca. The photos below show a sampling of the
sites where the volunteers worked on a regular basis.
Click on the thumbnails below to see larger images.
The Ithaca
Commons
The Commons is
a unique pedestrian mall in the heart of downtown Ithaca. The large concrete
planters are planted with trees and shrubs that provide shade for shoppers and
diners. The Beautification Brigade plants pansies in April to bloom with the
daffodils and tulips. In June the pansies are replaced with tropical foliage
annuals such as elephant ears, caladium and coleus. Impatiens, which flowers
in dense shade, is planted around the trees and shrubs.
The Sign
Triangle
This traffic median is located at the intersection of Green Street and East
State Street. When the beautification program started in 2002, this median was
planted with shrubs and was extremely weedy.
Over the years we removed the overgrown shrubs, improved the soil and planted
lots of spring bulbs, annuals and perennials. The median is now extremely colorful,
and it's pleasant to wait at the traffic light and
enjoy the flowers.
The first thumbnail shows what the median looked like in 2005 when it was still
covered with weeds.
The Zelkova
Triangle
This median is
across the street from the Sign Triangle, and it's named for the three large
Zelkova trees in the middle. Because it's too dry and shady under the trees
for flowers to grow, we've planted the 'hellstrip' between the sidewalk with
annuals, perennials and bulbs.
Purity
Point
This is a wedge-shaped
median that separates the north and southbound lanes of Route 13. It's named
for Purity Ice Cream, which is located nearby. The median was just planted with
grass a few years ago, and we have added low-maintenance, compact shrubs that
have interesting foliage: Barberry 'Crimson Pygmy', Spirea 'Gold Mound', Spirea
'Neon', and Forsythia 'Gold Tide'. The contrasting foliage colors add interest
even when the shrubs are not in bloom. We've also planted spring bulbs, annuals
and perennials around the shrubs for more summer color.
West State
Street
This year we added
wooden planters around the street trees on the first block of West State Street,
just off the Ithaca Commons. In the past we tried planting directly in the soil
around the trees, and plants did not survive due to foot traffic of people accessing
the parking meters, plus competition from the tree roots. The wooden planters
provide a place for annuals to grow - in good soil and safe from foot traffic.
The first thumbnail shows a planter before it was filled with soil and flowers. In spring the planters were filled with pansies, then replanted with heat-tolerant annuals (coleus, sweet potato vine, fuschia, snapdragon, marigold).
 |
