I had the good fortune of participating in the recent Neighborhoods Õ98 Conference as one of a panel of speakers on the topic of Neighborhood Beautification. I had the formidable job of describing the many public gardens in the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood in a matter of only 10 minutes. But I was able to do it, in no small part, thanks to the efforts of Bob Shaw, who provided me with some slides and a little history of our neighborhood gardens.

It was eye-opening for me to appreciate the labor of love that the many public gardens in our neighborhood represent, and how many there are: the Tenney-Lapham Welcome garden between Johnson and Gorham, the Butterfly Garden at Tenney Park planted by my family, the Reynolds Park perennial garden and vine garden courtesy of Bob Shaw and others, the Giddings Park garden planted and maintained by Rob Latousek and Brian McCormick, the Castle Place garden thanks to the vision of Angela Vitcenda, and the Curtis Court plantings of Karen Banazek. We are truly blessed to have such a wealth of beautiful gardens in our neighborhood!

As a participant in this workshop, I was also able to see the handiwork of other neighborhoods in Madison. Daniel Kerkman, president of the Indian Springs Neighborhood Organization, described a Tree Swallow nest box project that their neighborhood conducted in an effort to reduce the mosquito population. Janice Friis described her efforts in creating the Esther Beach flower garden in the Waunona Way neighborhood. Leta Hansen gave a great overview of the beautiful public gardens in the Old Market Place Neighborhood and described in great detail their Garden Appreciation Award program and Canal Garden Tours. Nancy Dott described the trials and tribulations of trying to establish a prairie in Hoyt Park. And Heather Mann, executive director of the Urban Open Space Foundation, gave a wonderful presentation on the FoundationÕs efforts to work with the neighborhoods and city on the Yahara River Parkway Project.

All in all, an interesting session, and a great conference! Stay tuned Ð Neighborhoods USA Õ99, a national neighborhood conference, is coming to Madison, May 26-29, 1999. Mark your calendars!! -Alan Crossley


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