If you’ve driven through Albany’s uptown, you’ve probably noticed that flowers greet you at every turn. Flowers cascade from light poles along Central Avenue and stand artfully in the beds near the district’s three main entrances. They overflow from pots at the intersections and even decorate West End Shopping center fences. These flowers provide vibrant color from spring to fall, beautifying the streetscape and unifying the look of the district.
This kind of green splendor doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a big project with many helpers. It begins in late winter when the Central Business Improvement District meets with Hoffman Landscape & Design to help plan the upcoming summer. Once plants and locations have been decided, seedlings are ordered from greenhouses at Constantine Farm and Garden Center. These are transplanted into pots and baskets, and around Memorial Day, a 13-man crew from Hoffman’s begins installing them throughout the district. This year’s flowers include: 75 planters, 240 hanging baskets, 45 window boxes, 3 flower beds at Townsend Park, 4 planters at Everett Road, and 2 planters at the Gateway signs. That’s a grand total of 315 plantings! Then to compliment the summer program the fall brings a complete switch over to a mum planting program.
John Van Etten, Landscape Manager for Hoffman’s says the crew tries to vary the plantings to make them more visually interesting. Hoffman’s uses Proven Winners brand; this year’s standouts were Lobularia- 'snow princess', Salvia 'mystic spires', Supertunia 'bordeaux', Angelonia'angel face' and Euphorbia 'diamond frost.' As the season winds to a close and colder weather sets in, mums keep the beds looking fresh and colorful.
The flowers make a big difference in the district. “I think it improves the overall aesthetics,” says VanEtten. In the years since Hoffman has been providing the flowers, VanEtten says he’s noticed that individual businesses have started to follow suit, and install their own planters and window boxes. “They’ve become more in tune to the aesthetic impact,” says VanEtten. He hopes this trend will continue and thrive.
The Central Business Improvement District’s Clean Team works all summer to keep plants watered and weeded. At the end of the year, they remove the pots and baskets, dig up the beds, and fertilize the soil to prepare for next year. It’s a big job, and one that takes up a great deal of this already-busy crew’s time. But one look at this year’s lush greenery, and you know it’s worth it.
