The design of any large parking area is primarily engineering involving the safe control and movement of vehicles and pedestrians.
However, throughout the design of such a development, some areas lend themselves very well to the introduction of planting.
In the Quincy Municipal Parking Area, many spaces were particularly adapted to a more enjoyable planting arrangement than would be inherent in the straight-line parking bay arrangement.
The peculiar outline of the Area lent itself to the use of curved bays, which present a very pleasing appearance.
Because parking areas are primarily where cars are stored for a certain period, they become virtually a great pedestrian way.
Therefore, not only is it desirable to make such an area of pleasant appearance through the injection of planting, but it is also necessary to control the movements of pedestrians, in so far as possible, using safety walks and ways that are carefully defined.
To do this, we have used various textured materials and functional planting.
Planting In Parking Areas
Regarding the planting, it is not a case of making an aesthetic area of what is virtually a strictly functional scheme. Therefore, planting has been arranged to be functional and, at the same time, present as much beauty as possible.
For example, in the Quincy Parking Area, use is made of shade trees and low shrubs.
Many problems present themselves with planting parking areas, large rotaries, and other schemes designed to control vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
In the case of parking areas, it is unsafe to allow any shrubs to grow very tall; therefore, the designer is confined to what might be called self-maintaining, low-plant material.
As everyone knows, there is a limited amount of material to draw from in this respect. This makes the designer’s problem doubly hard.
He wants to get away from repetition an4 provide as much flowering in the spring, green during the summer, and color during the fall as possible.
Little Maintenance
A parking area of the municipal type must be designed to have as little maintenance as possible, particularly where plants are concerned.
Where it is necessary to provide barriers for pedestrians, low hedges have been used; elsewhere, an entire area will be covered with a ground cover.
Other shrubs have been massed in bank planting. Operators of cars must always be able to see over any planting at the entrances and exits, and trees have been located so that they will not obstruct or hinder the motorist.
Plants Used In The Quincy Parking Area
To satisfy the needs of the Quincy Parking Area, the following plants were successfully used:
TREES
- Acer platanoides
- Norway maple Ulmus americana molini
- Moline elm
- Pinus resinosa
- Red pine
SHRUBS
- Euonymus alatus
- Winged euonymus
- Euonymus alatus compactus
- Dwarf winged euonymus
- Forsythia intermedia spectabilis
- Showy border forsythia
- Ligustrum amurense
- Amur privet Ligustrum obtusifolium regelianum
- Regel’s border privet
- Lonicera tatarica
- Tatarian honeysuckl
- Spiraea vanhouttei
- Vanhoutte spirea
GROUND COVERS
- Euonymus fortunei vegetus
- Bigleaf wintercreeper
- Vinca minor Bowles
- Bowles periwinkle
Rosa eglanteria, the eglantine of Chaucer, Spencer, and Shakespeare and the sweetbrier of the countryside, is a rose that is known for the agreeable, aromatic odor of its leaves.
A native of Europe, it has now become naturalized in North America. Its flowers are pink.
Humphrey Lilacs
The lilac collection of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin W. Humphrey, Butler, Pennsylvania, has become well-known in the western part of the state and is visited by many people who enjoy seeing the hundreds of plants on a two-acre, steep hillside area.
The oldest plants are now 30 years old. Little pruned, they have attained a great size and, this year were full of bloom than ever before. Other plants are from 10 to 20 years old.
The varieties include not only the best known of the old standbys but some of the newest varieties sent out by Lemoine previous to the war. It is where comparisons can be made between newer and more familiar ones.
In this cold section of western Pennsylvania, lilacs are often subject to injury by Spring frosts. However, Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey have kept careful records and stated that the following 17 varieties have never been injured in their garden when many others have been hurt.
This list is therefore presented with the hope it may be of value to others who live in sections where frost damage is likely to occur.
Most of the varieties mentioned are doubles; for some reason, they seem more reliable in bloom than single kinds. It would be interesting to learn if other breeders have had this experience.
44659 by George B. Cabot, George B. Cabot, And Associates