We designed and installed an urban 100% native landscape at a main downtown intersection in the Upstate NY town of Saratoga Springs with the amazing and talented community group SoBro Conservancy of Saratoga. SoBro’s mission is ‘to conserve vacant urban parcels and transform them into pollinator-friendly green spaces while educating about how such green spaces strengthen the web of life on which human well-being depends’. We wish every municipality had a group like these folks!
In the autumn of 2023 we begain with a community design workshop where we had everyone draw out the garden in all its possible forms, came to an agreement on basic layout and function. Trees were planted, berms built for topography and boulders added all through the winter and early spring. Initial work culminated in a large volunteer day where in only about 4 hrs over a thousand plants, all US native species with the majority eco region natives, were installed with all volunteer hands! From an empty vacant lot to a living breathing native landscape.
Community Design Process
Some of the plant selection included:
