When I wrote about a gardening controversy in my neighborhood for my Buffalo News column, I figured many readers would be surprised that planting flowers could be controversial.
But I know Rant readers won’t be surprised at all.
If you’re not a gardener and you’re not involved in community beautification, you might assume that efforts to plant in public spaces are so benign they’d be universally supported.
Sadly, that simply isn’t the case Those who wish to see dense urban streetscapes softened by reminders of the natural world know what a slog it can be. The plants have to be chosen, purchased, planted, and regularly watered and weeded. Depredations by vandalism must be expected and remediated. The watering is not an easy lift – literally. If they’re annuals or new perennials they’ll need that water every other day, at least. Rain can’t be counted on to take care of containers or hanging baskets.
In my neighborhood, a quirky, charming community full of historic architecture, the neighborhood association chose two main commercial streets for a grant-funded planting program that would fill tree wells with perennials to help keep the soil and mulch in place. The perennial plugs were a combination of native and nonnative varieties, including Penstemon ‘Blackbeard’, Stachys officinalis ‘Hummelo,’ Physostegia ‘Miss Manners’, Asclepias tuberosa, Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Little Goldstar,’ Nepeta ‘Summer Magic,’ Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’, and Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit,’ among a few others. Taller varieties would fill the inner circle of the planting with lower, creeping or mat-like plants on the outside.
For watering, the plan is to construct a 100-gallon watering rig that could be wheeled or driven down the street. It’ll still be a big pain, but at least businesses won’t have to water them.
Because there’s the rub. Some local storefronts requested that the tree wells in front of their storefronts – which are in the public right-of-way and do not belong to them – not be included in the planting. A couple even put up signs: “Don’t weed.” “Don’t plant.”
Those requests were honored, but it will cause breaks in the overall design plan, which is that the repeating plants act as sort of an interrupted urban field. It will take a while for any such effect to be visually apparent, but in a few years, it might be interesting.
And the sad thing was that these refusals really didn’t have much to do with plants. They rarely do. The neighborhood association is considered by businesses to favor residents. Bars that have gotten pushback for late-night outdoor patio action have long memories. Businesses tend to blame the neighborhood association – the most immediate scapegoat – for urban problems that are far too big for any group of volunteers to fix.
My colleagues at the newspaper found the whole thing kind of amusing: “People are getting that upset over flowers?”
I just hope these businesses will like it when everything’s filling out and/or in bloom. I know some won’t say so.
So who could have talked to any business owner who asked that no plants happen in front of their establishment? I don’t think there is a clear answer. Would it make patrons have to walk a few extra feet to reach their doorsteps? Do those patrons actually express irritation or threat of patronizing different establishments to avoid the plants? Would a few stepping stones in the plantings be a solution?
Amazing what folks find to get worked up about … same thing happened in our town! Option was even given to have the storefront owner plant what they wanted. Nope – free speech, government overreach, even eminent domain got mentioned. It’s just flowers folks – just nice flowers. And any choice made was purchased, planted, and maintained by the city!
Some are never satisfied.
“Some local storefronts requested that the tree wells in front of their storefronts – which are in the public right-of-way and do not belong to them – not be included in the planting.” Laughing heartlessly. Just wait for a few years down the line when the complaints about being intentionally excluded begin…
I did public gardening for over and dealt with negativity on and off from businesses whose owners actually said they hated plants or hated trees. It was…challenging but often rewarding with good feedback from the citizens and tourists who appreciated the gardens. It was hard to retire from it and let it go (a lot of the gardens have gone the way of the proverbial hand basket without me and my co-gardener’s loving care). I am so relieved to be out of it now though and would rather never leave my own garden!
Sharing is a worthy goal. Even those like Skyler can find ways to work with neighbors to swap what might be an excessive yield, or to use the greens of root vegetables. Self-reliance may be a virtue, but surely reaching out to help others is noble.
I love your group’s plant selection!
Those business owners don’t know what a gift they’re turning down. In our coastal tourist town, individual businesses on Main Street take responsibility for planting (or not) any unpaved space around trees. The different patches certainly reflect their occupants’ interest and tastes (or lack thereof). I think it gives the town a more quirky, less stodgy feeling than it would get from standardized municipal planting (or our fusty old garden club). But I imagine businesses spend quite a bit of money on it, whether they’re paying a landscape/garden service or doing it themselves. The installations are constantly trampled by unobservant pedestrians, peed on by dogs, and run over by strollers and bikes, in an already inhospitable growing site. They’re constantly being replaced. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for it.
Wow. Someone offers to design, purchase, install, and maintain a lovely garden area in front of someone else’s business, and the someone else balks at this amazing opportunity? What is wrong with people! What you are doing sounds so charming and beautiful. Great plant selections as well! I am very curious as to the specific reasons of the business owners who objected.