Beautifying Downtown with a Living Garden Wall

Ashland has held two Downtown Summit meetings over the past several months with an eye toward beautifying its downtown district and attracting more business to the area. One of the short-term projects to come out of the meetings is a living garden wall, also known as a vertical garden.
The wall will go along the chain-link fence behind the Ashland Farmers Market area and display native plants, flowering vines, deciduous shrubbery and some evergreens.
“We identified several site projects which could be pursued fairly quickly and inexpensively,” Steve Mitchell, Board of Selectman (BOS), said. “We think the creation of a living wall will help us build momentum for the overall updating of Ashland’s historic downtown.”
The Downtown Summit meetings included representatives of several town committees, including the Open Space and Recreation committees, the Historical Commission, the Ashland Business Association, Ashland Redevelopment Authority, key members of the town’s planning board and members of Ashland’s Garden Club as well as interested citizens.
Fellow BOS member Carl Hakansson, long impressed with the beauty of the gardens and a particular “wall of flowers” at Prescott Park in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, suggested the idea of a living garden wall. Hakansson had spoken with Ashland resident Cathy Rooney about his idea and invited her to the Summit. Rooney, an ecological landscape designer and owner of Designer of Greens, volunteered to spearhead the living wall project. This spring Rooney will work with Lois Bennett and other members of the Ashland Garden Club and with the Department of Public Works (DPW).
“The project will focus on an initial length of 40 feet of the fence, from the Ashland clock tower bordering Montenegro Square down toward the farmers’ market space,” Rooney explained. “We’re working out the logistical challenge of bringing water to that area with folks at the DPW.”
Preparing a proper surface for the initial plantings by the existing trees and their intricate root systems is complicated. The trees, however, help soften the view and will provide future plantings relief from sun in the summer. Project workers will dig holes in the ground or construct raised garden beds to hold appropriately-selected smaller root plantings that will establish easily. Compost, organic minerals and amendments will be added to the soil. Water will be a crucial element.
“The DPW has already installed a water spigot near the clock tower to assist with watering that area,” Rooney added, “so it would be a matter of amending that infrastructure to allow for drip irrigation, but having access to water will be critical.”
According to Bennett, Garden Club volunteers will provide support with planting and help to maintain the garden wall.
Rooney is busy pricing the selection of materials needed and researching wholesale vendors and the appropriate selection of plants and shrubs for the living wall. She will submit a proposal this spring for Boston Athletic Association (BAA) funding through the BOS. The project will start as soon as the funding is available.
“We’re in New England, so the plants will have to be hardy ones, such as Siberian Iris, Daylily, flowering vines, common yarrow, a perennial herb, and other plants that will tolerate partial shade as well as survive the cold winter months,” Rooney said. “Many of the plants will attract hummingbirds, butterflies and other natural pollinators. I practice four-season gardening with all my clients, and this will be no different. The living wall will be designed to have flowers that blossom in early spring and continue with plant specimens that flower well into late fall.”
Once the living wall is completed, the town and workers will evaluate the project.
According to Rooney, if the project proves successful and if additional funding becomes available, the living garden wall could be extended along the length of the fence to provide an even more spectacular display of flowers and greenery to enhance the downtown district.