Time to revive this thread.........in so doing......before I start in a on a review.......if anyone has any parks they'd like me to look at..........I'm happy to take requests......... LOL
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So let take a look at St. Andrews Playground/Park at Adelaide and Brant.
Images have already been posted by others, in other threads of the nearly complete work, but I wanted to see the space active and in bloom.
Have done so, there is much to recommend it...........but yes.........there are problems as we shall see!
Lets start at the south-east corner of the park.
Points for getting a clear, prominent entrance that leads you to the centre of the park, where the playground and seating are..........
However, there is no signage here identifying the park, that's a minus, as are the completely empty planting beds that are both weed strewn and baked into oblivion.
The seating is good, and there should be seating near a park entrance, but I disagree with the placement here, for a couple of reasons.
1) The seating blocks the view of one of the planting beds (not really an issue in their current state, but not ideal once they are planted, assuming they do it properly)
2) The benches are square in style, with straight edges, but the beds are curved, this is a mismatch of design aesthetics.
3) The bed and the grass would have benefited from the protection of the benches, had they instead lined the path into the park.
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You can see how rough the grass is in spots in this next image, just in from that south-east corner of the park, looking south-westerly:
Bench placement might reduce the traffic over the grass a bit, and working irrigation would help (we'll come back to that)............but overall, in seeing how this space just south of the play equipment was being used......I'm not sure grass is the right treatment for much of it.
The next image takes us to the north-east corner of the park and another disasterous planting bed with what looks to be 80% or greater attrition of the plants.
This bed was planted with several native plants, ferns and wild geraniums, amongst other things........ I think it could have worked..............the absence of irrigation is likely a partial explanation for the failure here, but with such a wet spring....
I suspect there's more to it than that. It doesn't look hugely trampled though, so I'm not sure if we're looking a bad planting technique, trampling, inadequate watering (particularly right after planting) or something else in combination here. Suffice to say an expensive re-do is in order here.
Below is an image of a few survivors from the planting bed, the aforementioned ferns and wild geranium. (along with some litter)
Now lets be a bit more positive w/these next few. Popularity is a good indicator of successful design elements.
The fellow you see off in the distance was one of 2 contractors in today working on............yes............an irrigation system.......apparently re-routing it.............(raised eyebrow.....when was it put in...........why is it being re-routed, who is paying for it?)
That explains why nothing is irrigated, which may also explain why the planting beds at the south-east corner are empty and the rest under-performing (said with just a hint of understatement)
Lets almost finish with 2 more not so-great bits........
Ummmm...........no, this is not a planting................no, ..this is not grass.............this is neglect:
And the planting bed at the south-west corner:
There is a bonus post next due to space constraints for images in this one.
From what I googled, the fountain and the park have been there since 1929!