Bridge Space
Lee’s Summit, MO
Photos: David Young (top)
and Will Gibson (bottom row)
Size: Two garden beds; one is roughly 555.00 ft² (51.56 m²) total area, the other is roughly 89.33 ft² (8.30 m²) total area
Year established: 2020
Year inducted: 2023
Category: Professionally managed
Maintained by: Maintenance division of Down to Earth Services Kansas City
Entrance Fee: Free
Description: This garden is a focal point outside of a creative and collaborative space for meetings, workshops, team building, business coaching, and a variety of other activities and events. The community of Lee’s Summit and surrounding cities use this space to come together and develop themselves and their businesses. This site was transformed from traditional landscape beds into a beatiful and functional native garden.
The garden was established with plugs, and filled in with roundleaf groundsel and star tickseed in various areas that they weren’t planted in, to fill in any spaces that were sparse. Located in part sun, the garden has a beautiful sea of star tickseed and Pennsylvania sedge accented by indigo bush and a ground cover of roundleaf groundsel. An urban garden, the garden is formal but with an element of wild, as the star tickseed is allowed to go unhindered during parts of the year, appreciated by both animals and humans. There are benches located in the back of the bed that encourage enjoyment of the space.
Routine maintenance, including removal of weeds and aggressive natives and cutting back as needed, is done from April-October and some seed collecting is also done at the site.
What Makes this Garden Excellent: This garden provides a superb example of a native plant garden in a small space and an urban setting. The garden’s plants enliven the urban surroundings through their vibrant color and elegant structures. People sit on the benches and talk and interact in the area as it is a unique space for community members as they come and go from the facility. The garden also provides a connection to nature in the city, with rabbits often seen in the garden and using the gardens as a place to raise their young.
Ten Great Native Plants to See Here:
Amorpha fruticosa (indigo bush)
Bouteloua hirsuta (eyelash grass)
Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama)
Carex muskingumensis (palm sedge)
Carex pennsylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)
Cephalanthus occidentalis (buttonbush)
Coreopsis pubescens (star tickseed)
Packera obovata (roundleaf groundsel)
Rudebeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem)
Signage: Signage indicates that the garden was designed and is maintained by Down to Earth Services
Accessibility: Paved path; disabled parking available
Location:
210 SW Market Street
Lee’s Summit, MO 64063
Coordinates:
38°54’42.6″N 94°22’47.5″W
38.91184, -94.37987
For More Information:
Will Gibson of Down To Earth / Green Thumb Gardens (info@dtekc.com)