City of La Grande Spring Beautification Award recipients announced
By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Friday, June 10th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – The City of La Grande has announced their Spring Beautification Awards.
The following winner information was released by the City of La Grande.
“The home of Anne Morrison and Michael Howard, 1501 Cedar Street has been selected for a City of La Grande spring beautification award. Over the past ten years, Morrison and Howard have converted part of the lawn to native plants. They have multiple shrubs, including sagebrush, bitterbrush, rabbit brush, hawthorn, currants, wild roses, and snowberries. They also have native grasses and cactus, and flowers including penstemons, blanketflower, globemallow, milkweed, flax, wild strawberries, lupine, coneflowers, asters, buckwheat, balsam root, and lomations. “Native plants need less water and are easier to maintain, no mowing” said Morrison. “They attract pollinators, and the garden changes constantly and different plants bloom from early spring through early frost. Using native plants brings the unique beauty of our area direct into our yard.”
Pollinators that visit the residential garden include bees, wasps, ants, butterflies, moths, and beetles, and hummingbirds. “They pollinate the foods that people depend on but up to 40 percent of all pollinator species may be at risk of extinction from habitat loss” said Morrison. “Our garden is designed to replace lost habitat for the pollinators we need.” This year Morrison and Howard also observed No Mow May a nationwide campaign to encourage people to postpone mowing their lawns through the month of May to provide pollinator food from the flowering plants and weeds that grow in the grass. “By June 1, our lawn was a knee-high meadow” said Morrison, “we appreciate that our neighbors were very tolerant!”
A second award was given to Joanne Walter, 2107 N Greenwood Street. Originally a rental property, the home was rebuilt and re-landscaped after a fire destroyed the house. In the eight years since Walter has lived in the new home she has replaced the lawn in the side yard with a colorful collection of flowering trees, shrubs and perennials. “I just like flowers” said Walter. She also replaced grass in the City right-of-way with a small vegetable garden and grows tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini to share with neighbors.
The purpose of the Beautification Awards Program is to recognize residential and commercial properties that add to the beauty and diversity of La Grande’s environment. Nominations for this award are made by members of the La Grande Landscape and Forestry Commission, city employees, neighbors and citizens. The awards are given seasonally; spring, summer and fall. The award criteria includes: landscaping that integrates color, texture, seasonal diversity and appropriate use of hardscapes and space, landscaping which promotes resource conservation, wildlife habitat and/or food production, and owners that have overcome special circumstances. Nominations for the summer beautification award can be sent to trees@cityolagradnde.org or call the Urban Forestry Division at 541-663-1952.”
