The landscape surrounding the Downtown Greenway will also reflect the areas through which it passes. The character of the design varies from park-like settings to urban streetscapes.
Five Points: The landscape design in this section honors the history of the Warnersville neighborhood and the ladies Rose Society that was so active and prominent in that neighborhood in earlier times. More than 1,200 roses are planted in this park-like setting of trees and rolling hills. Roses were selected for both their drought tolerance and disease resistance to keep maintenance requirements to a minimum.
Morehead Park: This area was an overgrown and abandoned wilderness that was not penetrable in the summer months because of the dense thickets of shrubs, weeds, and vines. In clearing out the brush to construct the Greenway, an attempt was made to integrate the new plantings with the remaining cover along the slopes next to Freeman Mill Road. Again, drought tolerant plants adaptable to a semi-urban setting were selected. Time will help stabilize the steep slopes that surround this area. Click here to learn more about Morehead Park.
Smith Street between North Eugene and Smith Streets: The landscape design of this section adjacent to Greenway at Fisher Park Apartments features innovative stormwater treatment facilities. The tree wells will improve water quality by filtering storm water and cleaning rainwater run-off through specially constructed soil in the tree well. The tree wells look like normal planting beds, except that the plants are situated below ground level. This allows for enough time for the soil and plants to do their work, and for the water to drain properly.
Meeting Place at Tradition Cornerstone: Fruit Orchard and Native Woodland: Meeting Place is surrounded by a fruit orchard and a native woodland. Together they provide shade, cool breezes, clean air, noise reduction and a beautiful place to relax. The native woodland is beautiful throughout the four seasons and includes native species that provide habitat and food for birds, bees and butterflies. Some of the plantings bear edible fruit and berries too, such as blueberry, serviceberry, paw paw and elderberry.
The 17 trees of the orchard grow eight kinds of organic fruit: cherry, plum, pear, apple, fig, oriental persimmon, apricot, and quince. Some ripen mid-summer—cherry, apricot, and plum, but the rest in autumn. It’s a public orchard, so only one fruit per person! An organic orchard requires more attention than a typical one: non-toxic sprays, organic fertilizers such as fish emulsion and compost, and regular inspection and weeding. As a Permaculture orchard, it relies on a set of plants, about 40 made up of 15 varieties, planted around each tree. They attract beneficial insects such as ladybugs, lacewings, hoverflies and praying mantis; the idea is that insects manage other insects. In time, the entire orchard will be covered with this diverse, green mantle of supportive plants. The orchard becomes a mini-ecosystem. Charlie Headington designed the orchard and installed it with the assistance of the Greensboro Permaculture Guild.
Woven Works Park at Tradition Cornerstone: Woven Works Park has a series of pathways through the cornerstone site that include winding concrete walking paths and gravel paths that lead to the various elements of play and focal piece called Revolution Cone. The site is covered with native landscaping and additional trees will be added to Woven Works Park in Fall 2017 to provide more shade. Several volunteer workdays were planned in spring 2016 and 2017 to get the site ready for plantings to create a Bird, Bee, & Butterfly Pollinator Garden on the east side of the site near the Muddy Creek stream that flows through a portion of the site. Another unique feature of Woven Works Park is the Hops Garden. Hops that are used in local breweries have been planted that will intertwine up the cables over time to create an inviting canopy to play hopscotch under.
Renovation of LoFi Park:
A renovation of LoFi Park began in November 2020. The new design by David Mudd and Justin Vettel, Permaculture Gardeners, will include berms with boulders and new trees, a rain garden and an open lawn space. The grass will be greener than it ever has been before. Anticipate completion of renovation in spring 2021.