SPARTANBURG, SC 11/13/01
A major gateway to Spartanburg will no longer go unnoticed by the thousands of motorists traveling Business I-85 and Asheville Highway each day. The Hearon Circle interchange of Veteran’s Parkway has been transformed from an overgrown tangle of underbrush, to a manicured collection of noble trees and specimen plantings. The landscaping of this Spot of Pride comes in the form of a gift to Spartanburg, and is the result of the work of The Noble Tree Foundation. Funding was made possible by private donations.
The Noble Tree Foundation was founded by Roger Milliken, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Milliken and Company. In addition to Milliken, the Foundation directors are: Bill Barnet, Tracy Hannah, Buddy Harmon, and Kurt Zimmerli. The Foundation’s purpose is to encourage and facilitate the planting of a variety of trees in and around Spartanburg, which can be enjoyed for generations to come. In an effort to demonstrate to the community the benefits of landscaping with trees, hardwoods as well as conifers, the directors of the Foundation chose Hearon Circle as a marquee project. The Circle was chosen because of the traffic volume, its central location on the Parkway, the size of the project, and the visual impact of the landscaping from all angles of approach to the Circle.
Mr. Richard Webel of Innocetti & Webel, landscape architects from Locust Valley, NY, created the design. Mr. Webel has been extensively involved with a vast number of landscaping projects with Mr. Milliken, in and around Spartanburg. The design was created in collaboration with Dr. Mike Dirr, a horticulturist on the faculty at the University of Georgia. Dr. Dirr’s role was to select trees that are not only aesthetically appropriate for the setting, but that are hardy enough to survive in their surroundings.
Coordination for the project included working with various utility companies and with the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT). The local SCDOT Maintenance Office, headed by Mr. Bobby Patterson, removed the fencing at Hearon Circle and prepared the site for planting by clearing vegetation that had grown up in the fence line. “We could not have accomplished this project without the terrific cooperation that we received from the folks at Spartanburg SCDOT,” stated Doug Nash, Coordinator for The Noble Tree Foundation. “Their participation was key to our success,” added Nash.
Stewart Winslow, Milliken Horticulturist, worked from the design to physically flag the placement of each plant, and acted as day-to-day advisor to the project. The Shurburtt Corporation, a full service landscaping company located in Spartanburg, won the bid to perform the plantings to the Foundation’s specifications. Shurburtt also installed an automatic irrigation system at the site to assure the plants thrive upon the project’s completion.
Success of the project has been enhanced by the active participation of several businesses along Veteran’s Parkway. Metromont Materials has embarked on a landscaping initiative to compliment the beautification efforts taking place along Veterans Parkway and a Spot of Pride has been sponsored at the interchange of Veterans parkway and Bryant Road by Symtech, Inc. Progress Lighting, Cintas Corporation, and Stankiewicz International.
Design and Plantings
The plantings consisted of 40 Brodie Eastern Red Cedars planted in two rows along each side of the Parkway within the Circle and a combination of 36 October Glory Red Maples and 24 Green Giant Arborvitae between the Parkway and the access ramps, both north and south of the Circle. The eight banks at the bridge abutments are planted with a combination of conifers, consisting of Burkii Eastern Red Cedars, Hillspire Eastern Red Cedars, Yoshino Cryptomeria, and Green Giant Arborvitae, along with beds of Parsonii Juniper. The flat portions on each side of the Circle, east and west of the Parkway, are planted with beds of Burning Bush for color, and a combination of hardwoods, made up of Legacy and October Glory Maples, Nuttall Oaks, and Yarwood London Planetrees. These hardwoods are accompanied by Deodar Cedars and Greenback Magnolias to provide year round foliage and beautiful white flowers in summer. There are also two Chanticleer Pears planted on each side of the Circle, which will bloom in the spring, providing early color. The banks inside the circle are planted from the bottom, about half up, with over 5,000 First Impression day lilies, which will provide a large splash of bright yellow in summer.
CONTACT: Richard Dillard, Director of Public Affairs. (864) 503-2546 |