Project Plant offers you a feast for your eyes.

  First Course: Several hundred naturalizing daffodils at the new City entry sign on Rt. 682 just before the City's new roundabout, plus more daffodils at South Side Park.

  Second Course: Several hundred tulips popping up between the pansies on East State Street.

  Third Course: Summer annuals complementing the perennials on assorted traffic islands around Athens.

Since 1984 we have dished up welcoming gardens at Athens City entries. You can find them on East State Street near Bob Evans, Columbus Road near WATH, Lancaster and Second on Columbus Road, Madison Avenue on East State, Carpenter - Stimson on East State Street, and the Athens Tourism Office on East State. Our volunteers also maintain the gardens at the Athens County Library on Home Street.

The soil from our gardens is pretty dishy, too. When the City began preparing for our handsome new roundabout, the soil from the Project Plant Richland Avenue garden sites there went to Community Food Initiatives gardens at Hope Apartments. Over twenty years of soil amendments on those traffic islands had created garden gold. Project Plant added the gift of a Mantis tiller; it was presented to Hope Apartment residents and CFI in April 2010.

Library Gardens

Pictured above, a crew of 26 Athens High School students, recruited by Tom Stork, mulched all the Library plantings on a beautiful May Saturday. Supervised by Tom and Naomi Stork, they did all the beds in a little over one hour! Project Plant provided mulch.

Our regular Library gardening crew not only keeps the Friends of the Library plantings weeded and mulched, but also labels plants with tags bought by Project Plant. Last year we bought new plants from Five Springs Nursery, including blueberries, for an edible landscape area by the library. Lisa Chambers, of Five Springs, identified plants for us.

Mansfield House

Tulip planters, Alan Boyd, Bill Frederick, Alvi McWilliams, Sue Boyd with the results of their efforts pictured below.

At Mansfield House, the Athens County Tourism Office on East State, Project Plant volunteers plant and maintain the gardens that welcome visitors. We planted a new bed of tulips in front of the tourism office sign and have Five Springs scheduled to replace shrubs on the east side of the house in early spring. We also had the nursery replace red twig dogwoods and dwarf barberry along the Community Center parking lot fence.

Students from Ohio University's Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs helped mulch Community Center plantings in May. Athens Parks and Recreation Department provided mulch. And we continue to weed thistle with determination, not to mention hoes, soil knives, and obsession, at the site.

East State Street Project

Project Plant will play a part in Arbor Day this year with the dedication of thirteen newly planted trees in a one-block section of East State Street.

Working with residents of the East State area between Carpenter - Stimson and Morris Avenues, Project Plant identified sites for the City Shade Tree Commission's annual tree plantings.

Look for more daffodils and daylilies in this area, too, all part of a project to brighten the historic neighborhood along the East State city corridor. Liz Maule Realty Office hosts our meetings, and Theta Chi fraternity has helped with digging bulbs and planting.

The April 29th Arbor Day event will be held in Theta Chi's front yard, 117 East State Street, between 1 and 2 p.m. You are invited. For more information call Alvi McWilliams, 593-3294.

Jane Richter on the front page

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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.

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