How we are evaluated

 

• Overall design and strategic planning are important with emphasis on the balance of plant material with hardscapes and the suitable integration of turf, ground covers and native plants with harmony of color, texture and shape.  The focus here includes: sustainability, lighting, site features, sculpture as well as maintenance practices, site rejuvenation and rehabilitation.

• Included here will be community gardens, children’s gardens, public gardens and zoos.

• In the municipal segment, special attention to environmental management, naturalization and eco-design.  And, finally, clear evidence of wide community involvement.

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How Coshocton excels in this category

 

Coshocton has a privately-owned botanical garden, Clary Gardens, which is the anchor organization for Coshocton in Bloom. The city has an active and dedicated OSU Master Gardener Volunteer program, the Town and Country Garden Club and multiple public garden spaces maintained by a variety of organizations. These groups provide continuous guidance, education and inspiration to residents of the county, as well as, people from outside the community. An extended bike and walking path (the old canal “tow path” comprises a part) was created to link the recreational Lake Park District to the city.  This recreational trail is in constant use throughout the year and now has an extended Veterans’ Memorial park and River Walk, developed to extend the landscape along the beauty of our three merging rivers. The OSU Master Gardener Volunteers design, plant and maintain special gardens throughout the community. Their newest is the “Perennial Teaching Garden” with the expressed purpose of educating the public on use and care of perennials in the landscape. Educational symposiums are offered featuring wide-ranging topics in the spring and the fall, as well as, “Lunch-n-Learn” programs during the summer and a popular “Winter Blah” gardening series to keep momentum going during the slower months. They staff a monthly garden program on local radio, WTNS and in 2018 opened a Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic at the OSU Extension Office where folks are encouraged to bring in their samples and questions to get immediate answers and guidance in solving horticultural and landscape challenges (personal and/or professional).  The program also offers educational wildflower walks, and identification of invasive species walks, and plants and monitors a phenology garden. The Coshocton MGV 2019 theme is “Native Plants” for use through public exhibits and attended events. The Coshocton Town and Country Garden Club, Coshocton County Maintenance Department and the City Recreation Department both are responsible for landscaping and continually improving several maintained areas.