Tompkins County
Community Beautification Program

Beautification Brigade 2005

In 2005, Chrys Gardener was on a leave of absence in Ireland, and the program was managed by Dan Klein. Dan trained a new crop of volunteers who worked in hot, dry conditions that summer. Here are some photos of the Beautification Brigade planting on the Ithaca Commons and medians around the city of Ithaca.

                                      
  Planting pansies on the Ithaca Commons in April. Pansies can tolerate freezing temperatures, so they are a                  
good choice for early spring planting. They are replaced with summer annuals when the weather warms up in June.

               Beautification Brigade volunteers planting annuals on the Ithaca Commons in June
                (above and below)

                                             
        The "Sign Triangle", a median in the Tuning Fork on East State Street. The photo on the left shows the median before removal of weeds and old shrubs. The photo on the right shows the median after it was planted with colorful annuals. In 2006, the center of this median will be planted with shrubs and grasses for fall and winter interest, and the border will be planted with annuals again.

                                                     
       A volunteer weeding the Sign Triangle                                  Amaranth and marigolds on the Sign Triangle

    

                                                      
      The Zelkova median, also part of the Tuning Fork on East State Street. The photo at left shows the annual planting in June, and the photo on the right shows the planting, which includes celosia and black millet in the foreground, in September.