To weed.
We have been weeding ever since, starting about a month early. Everything has been early, as you have no doubt noticed. Those splendid red and purple tulips on the...East State Street traffic island near Bob Evans shot up from their bed of pansies, then got a nice cool spell to prolong the show. On the Madison Avenue garden near Athens Flower Shop, blue catmint blossoms set off yellow tulips and miniature daffodils. At the Mansfield House, home of the tourism office on East state, red tulips and purple pansies bloomed along with daffodils.
During the rest of the garden season you have probably spotted Project Plant volunteers in that distinctive weeding pose both at the Mansfield House gardens and at the Athens County Library gardens on Home Street. One library crew volunteer, Sharon Huge, has adopted the Second Street garden started by Project Plant and is recruiting neighbors to help.
At Mansfield House and the library every Tuesday morning, hard rain excepting, we hit the dirt. In early spring and late fall we even get to plant. Wonderful volunteers can't do it all, however, and this is where our wonderful contributors come in. Our contractor, Five Springs Farm, does some of the planting and all of the maintenance of our other garden sites - that garden bed on East State at the Rt. 33 entry, the Madison Avenue, Stimson Avenue and Columbus Road traffic island gardens - plus we hire Five springs for some seasonal maintenance at the library. Your contributions support all this, the plants, the planting, all that weeding, and the watering of all our gardens. And you and we have done this since 1984. Amazing, isn't it? Beautiful, too. Keep Athens blooming. Please send contributions to: Project Plant P. 0. BOX 5676 Athens, OH 45701
Click on the photo above for a larger imageYou may have seen the weeding saga at the end of April when 24 Ohio University students (pictured above) helped us as a part of their 2012 Beautification Day. The long strip ot landscape beds by the Community Center parking lot frontage along East State Street got a weed barrier of recycled cardboard that we soaked in a kiddie pool. Sue Boyd is shown stomping cardboard below.
A blanket of mulch, provided by Athens City Parks and Recreation, was put over the cardboard with the invaluable labor of the OU students. In a little over two hours they completed what would have taken us weeks. Project Plant volunteers had weeded the beds in the month before, plus put down pre- emergent weed suppressant to discourage weeds, then joined in the great mulching project April 29th.
Like to help us?
You can join in the gardening that helps make Athens such a remarkable
place by sending a tax deductible contribution to:
Project Plant, P. O. Box 5676, Athens OH 45701.