America in Bloom Judges Evaluation - part 3
Landscaped Areas (LA) Recommendations:
The Big Border in Holliston along Washington Street is filled with a glorious explosion of color! The landscaping border is a delight to see along the downtown street. The expansion of the 50 new hydrangea plants has really added dimension and drama to this landscaping bed. Congratulations on the completion of such a successful project. We loved the color blocking and we recommend that the color blocking be extended up and down the street to include the landscape area in front of the Church all the way over to beds in front of the cemetery. The turf area on the left corner of the church yard needed irrigation. The grass was dead in that area. The corner there seems bare. The judges recommend adding a corner landscaping bed of boxwoods to add green color to that area year-round Church Yard area that needs irrigation Joyful Manifestation comes to mind when one thinks about the community of Holliston. This community has figured out how to work together for the positive benefit of everyone.
While attending a reception the judges noticed that efforts were underway to kill back weeds and brush at the back of the historical society property. The judges encourage the historical society to plant an evergreen shrub border to create a backdrop. This will provide something interesting to view in the fall and winter months, as well as create a lovely background view for any weddings that are held on the property. The Library rear parking lot has a rock wall raised bed creating a butterfly/pollinator garden, but close access is impeded by parked vehicles. We recommend installing wheel bumpers eight to ten feet away from the rock wall to provide safer pedestrian access from parking to the door and installing plant labels and descriptions of the plants for visitors to enjoy and learn about.
The beautiful perennial border at Pinecrest Golf Course would also benefit from a backdrop of evergreen shrubs. Evergreens here would create a beautiful backdrop for the showcase perennials that are already planted along the fence. Plus, they stay green all year round, even in the bitter cold of winter. Some options for evergreen shrubs are the emerald & gold euonymus, northern charm boxwood, blue star juniper, and yews. While these are mainly green in color, they have tones of blues and yellows which would provide color throughout the year. Evergreen shrub backdrops don’t have to be boring. There are many textures and options to choose from. Evergreen shrubs can have very small leaves, pointy pine needles or even appear soft and fluffy. Planting opposing textures next to each other accentuates the differences and makes for a more interesting landscape. The same goes for shape and size. Try pairing tall, interestingly shaped evergreens with well-behaved, mounded ones. The effect is dramatic and eye-catching. Taking advantage of their shapes also allows more plants to be packed into an area.
At the Arch Street crossing of the Rail Trail, from Arch Street, the mounted window boxes are dwarfed by the bridge and the catwalk structure. We recommend enlarging this planting and putting another box on both outsides of the railing to provide decoration from the road views. The northern slope path has relatively safe footing surface, with the rope assist installed, but not the south slope. We recommend mild grading/manicuring and mulching to create safer footing and installing a similar rope assist on the south slope.
The Bogastow Brook Viaduct renovation is very impressive, and Holliston deserves to feel proud of this accomplishment. We recommend devising a long-term project to create an excellent Historic Roadside Stop highlighting the railroad, the bridge, the history of the pond (it already has a small historic marker). There is ample space for parking, covered kiosk for history presentation, and with repairs/reinforcing and safety railing of the wood bridge on the 8-arch bridge side, public recreation/picnicking. The pond side offers its own historic/storm water educational opportunities, plus wildlife.
