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<br />~- #1996
<br />GARDEN
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<br />Continued from Page 12
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<br />The Water, or is it the Dam, Garden?
<br />Evergreen Garden Club's newest project,
<br />located below the dam and north of the new
<br />Evergreen Metro District water plant, is com-
<br />parable in size and scope to the Post Office
<br />Garden. It is a huge new commitment for the
<br />club's expanded membership, and cochairs
<br />Dale and Peggy Fetchenhier are enthusiastic
<br />about the opportunity to offer the communi-
<br />ty a demonstration garden at this highly visi-
<br />ble downtown Evergreen site.
<br />Plans to landscape the area were included
<br />in the water plant construction project, says
<br />Dave Lightheart, district operations manager.
<br />The project architects had designed a land-
<br />scaped area for the site using Kentucky blue-
<br />grass and evergreen trees. When the district
<br />approached the garden club for help with
<br />planting and maintenance, members enthusi-
<br />astically agreed, with the condition they could
<br />design and manage the garden, Dale Fetchen-
<br />hier recalls.
<br />The club formed a project committee and
<br />each member, including Carla Briggs, Arlene
<br />Fitteren, Diana Martin, Lucille Link, and the
<br />Fetchenhiers, designed a portion of the gar-
<br />den. The plan they developed was a "dream
<br />garden."
<br />"We never expected it to be approved,"
<br />Dale Fetchenhier says, But Evergreen Metro
<br />quickly embraced their low water usage
<br />scheme in lieu of the Kentucky bluegrass, and
<br />endorsed the idea of creating an example of
<br />xeriscape for the Evergreen community.
<br />The excitement spread. More than 30
<br />members participated in the initial planting,
<br />Evergreen Metro District provided labor for
<br />moving and planting trees, as well as plant
<br />materials, the hardscape, and moral support
<br />Evergreen Metro District Board president and
<br />professional sculptor, Tom Ware, found an
<br />antique sundial to serve as a focal point in the
<br />paved plaza, In honor of the water industry,
<br />the sundial is mounted on a water meter scav-
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<br />enged from the district's warehouse, The
<br />Denver Water Department, an advocate of
<br />xeriscaping, donated signs to identify the
<br />plants in the garden.
<br />Even nonmembers have pitched in. Ludy
<br />Burgoch, an Evergreen resident glad to see
<br />the eradication of a downtown eyesore,
<br />appeared frequently at the garden to help
<br />with planting.
<br />Neighborhood chipmunks, pleased by
<br />the rich, loose soil added to the site, are
<br />enthusiastically depositing cheekloads of
<br />sunflower seeds gleaned from somebody's
<br />bird feeder. While club volunteers dutifully
<br />pull the resulting, unwanted sunflower
<br />sprouts, they are impressed with the chip-
<br />munks' community spirit
<br />The result of these cooperative efforts is
<br />a demonstration garden where visitors can
<br />stroll on paved paths, observing plantings
<br />appropriate for specific growing conditions.
<br />Visitors will find hardy plants placed by the
<br />roadway, xeric shrub roses at the high point,
<br />herbs below them,' and cascading varieties of
<br />thyme in a waterfall pattern down the slope,
<br />One can even check the time (subtract one
<br />hour for daylight savings) at the sundial.
<br />"It's a fine example of a couple of differ-
<br />ent entities getting together to do something
<br />for the community, " Lightheart says.
<br />Everything is in place now except a set
<br />name for the project Water district employ-
<br />ees think of the site as "the landscaped area
<br />at the water plant" Peggy and Dale Fetchen.
<br />hier call it the "Water Garden," short for the
<br />Evergreen Metro Water District Garden, but
<br />misleading because the garden is dry, Other
<br />club members refer to the project as the
<br />"Dam Garden," with reference to its location,
<br />The Fetchenhiers, however, seem to wince
<br />when they say "Dam Garden," not wanting to
<br />curse the garden.
<br />It can be expected that, as the garden
<br />grows, a definite name will also take hold,
<br />And, if the neighborhood chipmunks gain
<br />influence, the garden could become known
<br />as, "Sunflower Central." 0
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