Portal
Home
Calendar
Gallery
FAQ
Search
Register
Log inCape gem may get landscape facelift
Cape gem may get landscape facelift
by Outspoken on Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:31 am
Cape gem may get landscape facelift
Plant lovers propose a privately funded arboretum to improve Fort Williams' grounds.
By TREVOR MAXWELL
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
Oriental bittersweet. Autumn olive. European privet.
Nice names for plants, but on a landscape such as Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, these invasive species represent a sprawling nightmare for nature lovers and crews that fight back the overgrowth.
Kathryn Bacastow would rather see flowering dogwoods and sugar maple trees, accompanied by small signs describing the native species.
Bacastow, a master gardener who grew up in Cape Elizabeth, is one of the driving forces behind a proposal to create a privately funded arboretum at Fort Williams.
The 90-acre town-owned park, home to Portland Head Light, is one of New England's historic jewels and one of Maine's top tourist draws.
Bacastow and other backers of the arboretum will present their proposal at Tuesday night's meeting of the Cape Elizabeth Planning Board. There will be a public hearing and possibly an up-or-down vote by the board. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. and will be held at Town Hall.
Over the past two years, Bacastow has formed an arboretum committee with John Mitchell, a landscape architect and owner of Mitchell & Associates in Portland; Kris Murray, whose family runs a local construction and excavation company, L.P. Murray & Sons; and Rick Churchill, a former Cape Elizabeth tree warden.
"The park is such a wonderful gift to Cape Elizabeth and the community at large, but it is a lot of work to keep it maintained horticulturally," Bacastow said. "It's a beautiful piece of land, and we are hoping that it will continue to be."
The general idea of the arboretum is to remove many of the invasive plants that have overgrown the park's existing trail network. Those plants would be replaced over time with a diverse collection of native trees, shrubs, open areas and educational gardens. The arboretum committee has identified 15 areas in the park for landscape improvements. The group also wants to replace dead or dying trees as needed.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=222393&ac=PHnws
Courtesy Mitchell & Associates
Plant lovers propose a privately funded arboretum to improve Fort Williams' grounds.
By TREVOR MAXWELL
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
Oriental bittersweet. Autumn olive. European privet.
Nice names for plants, but on a landscape such as Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, these invasive species represent a sprawling nightmare for nature lovers and crews that fight back the overgrowth.
Kathryn Bacastow would rather see flowering dogwoods and sugar maple trees, accompanied by small signs describing the native species.
Bacastow, a master gardener who grew up in Cape Elizabeth, is one of the driving forces behind a proposal to create a privately funded arboretum at Fort Williams.
The 90-acre town-owned park, home to Portland Head Light, is one of New England's historic jewels and one of Maine's top tourist draws.
Bacastow and other backers of the arboretum will present their proposal at Tuesday night's meeting of the Cape Elizabeth Planning Board. There will be a public hearing and possibly an up-or-down vote by the board. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. and will be held at Town Hall.
Over the past two years, Bacastow has formed an arboretum committee with John Mitchell, a landscape architect and owner of Mitchell & Associates in Portland; Kris Murray, whose family runs a local construction and excavation company, L.P. Murray & Sons; and Rick Churchill, a former Cape Elizabeth tree warden.
"The park is such a wonderful gift to Cape Elizabeth and the community at large, but it is a lot of work to keep it maintained horticulturally," Bacastow said. "It's a beautiful piece of land, and we are hoping that it will continue to be."
The general idea of the arboretum is to remove many of the invasive plants that have overgrown the park's existing trail network. Those plants would be replaced over time with a diverse collection of native trees, shrubs, open areas and educational gardens. The arboretum committee has identified 15 areas in the park for landscape improvements. The group also wants to replace dead or dying trees as needed.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=222393&ac=PHnws
Courtesy Mitchell & Associates
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
