Temperatures hovered around 30 degrees Thursday afternoon as Oktibbeha County Master Gardeners Jim McKell and Charlie Weatherly spread soil in front of the Oktibbeha County Courthouse annex.
Flurries dropped from the sky, the men”s breath hung in the air and McKell looked toward the annex building, where new mulch covered the ground in front of the courthouse stairs. Nearly a dozen Master Gardeners over the last two weeks buried bulbs, spread mulch and planted trees and shrubs in front of the building on West Main Street as part of an ongoing beautification project.
“It”s going to look really good when we come down here this spring,” McKell said.
Members of the volunteer organization also planted bulbs downtown, at the Mississippi State University Extension Service office and in front of the Starkville Public Library, among other places.
The Master Gardeners were able to save nine holly trees which had been removed from planters in downtown Starkville this November in favor of trees which would offer more canopy. The holly trees, which Weatherly estimated are worth about $500 each, were replanted in front of the southwestern corner of the the courthouse annex.
Nandinas removed from the downtown planters also were replanted in front of the annex, along with crape myrtles and Autumn Blaze maple trees.
Van Zyverden Inc., a wholesale flower bulb and plant company out of Meridian, donated bulbs for the project, McKell said. Oktibbeha County Co-Op offered plants at reduced prices.
The project cost about $800, McKell said, but Weatherly described the benefit as “priceless.”
The county”s Master Gardeners hope to plant monkey grass in front of the annex this spring, Weatherly said. The group already has set up community gardens, completed landscaping projects at Florida Care on Highway 389 North and at Emerson School, and is working on a landscaping project at the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum.
“It”s all about beautification,” Weatherly said.
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