Working with the City of Hartwell, Georgia to improve its public open spaces.
Gum Branch Boat Ramp Facility
Site Plan
Upon completion, this facility will host large-scale bass tournaments in an attempt to establish the community of Hartwell as a local hotspot for tourists and fishing enthusiasts.
Before the site was initially cleared, contractors were instructed to preserve a 50' buffer of trees along the waterline of the northwest corner of the site. Due to a miscalculation of pre- and post-drought water levels for Lake Hartwell, virtually all of these trees were removed.
The goal of the proposed design is to recreate this buffer in such a manner that when viewed from across the inlet, it appears as it did before development and when viewed from within the site, it blends native species into an attractive backdrop for the fishing tournaments. The design also calls for a welcome sign near the site's entrance and adjacent plantings.
Entry Sign and Plantings
Black-eyed susans and muhly grass will form a low visual foundation for the entryway welcome sign. Bottlebrush buckeyes add a coarser texture to emphasize and frame the sign from behind. Wax myrtles will act as both a backdrop and a way to blend these plantings into the overall buffer design. Once a sufficient canopy has been established, native flame azaleas will flank the entryway.
Restored Shoreline Buffer
Along the waterline, native trees such as oaks, loblolly pines, beech and sycamores recreate the former view to residents across the inlet. A row of wax myrtles forms a dense visual screen in the understory. Plumleaf azaleas form the next layer followed by pink muhly grass along the edges of the streets and parking lots. Dogwoods act as focal points throughout the site.
Any native trees or shrubs that take root within the buffer zone will be marked and protected to maintain a natural plant composition and spacing.
Elberton Highway Park
Site Plan
The Elberton Highway Athletic Fields complex is the newest addition to Hart County’s public park system. Situated within the site are four baseball fields with amenities, a concession stand, a parking lot and the county botanical gardens. Currently, very few landscaping features have been installed and those that were are in very poor condition.
The primary design goal for this site is to create a new plant palette for the park’s entry road that is both visually enticing and extremely low maintenance. The county also requested a design for a monument-style entry sign that could be used throughout the county to give consistency to the park system. In addition to the entryway, there was also an ongoing problem with interference from vehicle headlights during ball games, an issue that will be addressed through planting design.
Entry Sign and Plantings
Daylilies and purple fountain grass will form a low visual foundation for the entryway welcome sign while lantana and forsythias create a colorful backdrop. Willow oaks provide shade and a visual screen to hide the industrial warehouse behind them. Because Elberton Highway is a major thoroughfare, all plantings are massed in order to be more easily visible when viewed at high speeds.
Main Entrance Road
The symmetrical nature of the entry road provides a feeling of importance and formality when approaching the park. Littleleaf lindens and willow oaks create a shady canopy over the street while the bright, bold color of the forsythias entices people to enter the park and see what’s on the other side.