Metro Jacksonville

Jacksonville by Neighborhood => Downtown => Topic started by: Metro Jacksonville on March 23, 2014, 02:55:02 PM

Title: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: Metro Jacksonville on March 23, 2014, 02:55:02 PM
The Beautification of Hemming Plaza

(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/3136350816_xjRgTDD-M.jpg)

On Saturday, March 22, 2014, 100 community volunteers worked to beautify Hemming Plaza by planting shrubs and flowering plants.  Here are a few sights and scenes from the beautification effort.

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2014-mar-the-beautification-of-hemming-plaza-
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: Noone on March 23, 2014, 03:18:19 PM
Very tactical.
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: thelakelander on March 23, 2014, 03:47:48 PM
Yes...indeed.
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: ronchamblin on March 23, 2014, 08:55:50 PM
Now this is sacrificing for the core ..... someone's whole Saturday devoted to working the project. 

This is the kind of thing that gives me hope for the future.  People do sometimes care about their city .. and prove it by volunteering like this.

Thanks for the photos Ennis.

Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: mbwright on March 24, 2014, 08:19:59 AM
Looks great, but good luck controlling the ivy.
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: fieldafm on March 24, 2014, 08:24:15 AM
DVI should be doing more things like this. Great job!

Agree with mbwright, when I passed by on bike yesterday I was also curious about the ivy choice.
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: TD* on March 24, 2014, 11:31:45 AM
Looks excellent. Love it. I can't wait to come enjoy it during one spark in a few weeks.
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: dougsandiego on March 24, 2014, 12:12:41 PM
Wonderful! In my opinion, it is this kind of grass roots, community action is what builds liveable cities.
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: duvaldude08 on March 24, 2014, 12:47:37 PM
Quote from: dougsandiego on March 24, 2014, 12:12:41 PM
Wonderful! In my opinion, it is this kind of grass roots, community action is what builds liveable cities.

I agree! We need much more of this. I was driving around downtown the other days and seen loads of trash I wanted to go pick up because it was annoying me. I may get together with some friends and starting doing that everyone now and then. You cant wait for city hall to do everything. Thats like waiting on the government.. LOL
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: IrvAdams on March 24, 2014, 12:55:12 PM
^^ Good point. The park belongs to all of us.
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: BridgeTroll on March 24, 2014, 02:54:47 PM
Quote from: mbwright on March 24, 2014, 08:19:59 AM
Looks great, but good luck controlling the ivy.

The ivy will take over by the end of summer...
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: civil42806 on March 24, 2014, 09:46:51 PM
Ivy was a horrible choice, it will overwhelm everything if not trimmed on a bi weekly basis.  Planting the things is easy, maintaining it , watering, pruning, weeding, that will be the challenge
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: Charles Hunter on March 24, 2014, 09:48:53 PM
You mean all those folks who did the planting didn't read the fine print that says they have to come back every 10 days to prune and weed?
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: tufsu1 on March 24, 2014, 09:50:24 PM
Quote from: civil42806 on March 24, 2014, 09:46:51 PM
Ivy was a horrible choice, it will overwhelm everything if not trimmed on a bi weekly basis.  Planting the things is easy, maintaining it , watering, pruning, weeding, that will be the challenge

I'm pretty sure the Late Bloomers Garden Club knew what they were planting
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: civil42806 on March 24, 2014, 11:31:15 PM
Quote from: tufsu1 on March 24, 2014, 09:50:24 PM
Quote from: civil42806 on March 24, 2014, 09:46:51 PM
Ivy was a horrible choice, it will overwhelm everything if not trimmed on a bi weekly basis.  Planting the things is easy, maintaining it , watering, pruning, weeding, that will be the challenge

I'm pretty sure the Late Bloomers Garden Club knew what they were planting

Hope they did.  Best of luck to them
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: civil42806 on March 25, 2014, 08:05:33 AM
by the way those aren't sago palms planted in the 7th picture, on the 2nd page, are they?
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: mbwright on March 25, 2014, 08:27:52 AM
hard to tell.  There is holly fern, and most likely coontie in the photos.  Sago's are not a good choice now, due to an alien, imported scale (gotta love the global economy).
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: Keith-N-Jax on March 25, 2014, 08:36:29 AM
Yes looks like coontie.
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: PeeJayEss on March 25, 2014, 08:53:53 AM
They look like coontie to me as well, which are a great choice.
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: civil42806 on March 25, 2014, 09:54:53 AM
Coonties make a good selection , its hard to tell from the pics, was hoping they didn't select sagos, they get huge and aren't a good selection due to the cold in jax
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: Josh on March 25, 2014, 10:02:14 AM
Quote from: mbwright on March 25, 2014, 08:27:52 AM
hard to tell.  There is holly fern, and most likely coontie in the photos.  Sago's are not a good choice now, due to an alien, imported scale (gotta love the global economy).

Well, it's not like sagos are native cycads anyway; only coonties are. Asian cycad scale was definitely an epidemic last decade when it arrived in Miami and people started ripping out their sagos, but from what I've read it seems the plants (or predatory bugs) have adapted and scale didn't turn out to be the apocalypse many predicted. Those that over-prune (or prune at all) their sagos contribute more to damage from cycad scale than the bugs themselves do.

Quote from: civil42806 on March 25, 2014, 09:54:53 AM
Coonties make a good selection , its hard to tell from the pics, was hoping they didn't select sagos, they get huge and aren't a good selection due to the cold in jax

Given Hemming Park/Plaza's history, the landscaping will be completely changed before sagos would be even remotely large given how small the plants they're planting now are. But yeah, you would never plant sagos like that.

Coonties can definitely get large themselves though. The ones planted in some of the medians in Avondale are getting to the point where they are starting to affect visibility for cars and pedestrians, especially when you allow Bermuda grass or something similar to grow through it which results in vegetation growing through them and sticking out an additional foot or two. Last year someone did a good job of cleaning up Edgewood, but Ingleside is a disaster.
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: mbwright on March 25, 2014, 11:19:15 AM
A huge improvement, and a job well done.
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: mtraininjax on March 26, 2014, 06:48:52 AM
QuoteCoonties can definitely get large themselves though. The ones planted in some of the medians in Avondale are getting to the point where they are starting to affect visibility for cars and pedestrians, especially when you allow Bermuda grass or something similar to grow through it which results in vegetation growing through them and sticking out an additional foot or two. Last year someone did a good job of cleaning up Edgewood, but Ingleside is a disaster.

Ingleside got a haircut at Ingleside and Oak recently. Could really use some flashing lights to make people aware or turn it into a 4-way stop, like Riverside and Ingleside.
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: I-10east on April 11, 2014, 08:55:29 AM
A group named "The Friends of Hemming Park" wants to bring more events to Hemming Plaza.

www.news4jax.com/news/plans/plans-for-hemming-plaza-in-the-works/25419052
Title: Re: The Beautification of Hemming Plaza
Post by: tufsu1 on April 11, 2014, 09:01:43 AM
^ yes, they were the only ones who submitted on the City's RFP late last year.  DIA voted the other day to give them initial funding