Fiskars Project Orange Thumb comes to Atlanta

June 21, 12:22 PMAtlanta Gardening ExaminerKate Copsey

Kate Chura, Executive Director, The Southeastern Horticultural Society, was involved with this project and told me that on Thursday of last week the site still had the remains of two homes on it, plus a couple of trees that had fallen down over the years. By the end of Saturday the area had been transformed into a peaceful and colorful urban garden which will be used by local residents and schools.

A team of over 50 Home Depot/ Fiskars employees and local volunteers constructed raised beds in the morning and the planting was finished by 4pm. The work was done on a typical, hot Atlanta summer day and everyone, including Joe Lamp’l (Joe Gardener), was hot, sweaty, grubby and tired by the end but there were no complaints as the garden took shape.

The design includes edible components such as blueberries, basil, melons and pumpkins alongside marigolds, verbenas and magnolias. Many of the plants are native to the south which will lead to low maintenance and will help to establish a healthy biodiversity in the area. It also has an area where school or social groups can gather and sit on benches under the shade of a large oak tree.

Fiskars do between three and five one-day makeovers each year, and give out grants to help other community projects nationwide. Edgewood was chosen as a winner because it was a neighborhood in dire need of beautification but also because it demonstrated strong leadership from the residents who wanted to claim their neighborhood back. The symbolic removal of sneakers from the power lines illustrated the determination of the residents to reclaim their community and make it a safe place to raise families.

The City of Atlanta hopes to use this and other community revivals to demonstrate how urban projects can succeed, and influence policy to help facilitate urban development.