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Thursday, April 9, 2009 Leeper Park Landscaping Meeting with John Martinez of the South Bend Parks Department John and I met at Leeper Park East to discuss his plans for the sunken rose garden. John understands that he cannot reintroduce the water feature with the statuary and is trying to find a solution to the reflecting pool. He would like to repaint and replant it and then add a cement bench to the east end to match the one on the west end. He would like to repaint the west concrete bench. John also wants to re- create the pathways in the rose garden. He wants to use pea gravel and create paths edged in metal. He also wondered why more people didn't use that section of the Park. I mentioned the whine from the water works pumps posed too much of a distraction and caused minor hearing/ear irritation. I suggested that possibly the Water Works could put fencing and shrubbery around these pumps to deflect/deaden the noise. There shouldn't be a problem with this application since it will recreate the paths that were there in the past. We walked over to Western Leeper to survey the remnants of formal garden beds near the Duck Pond. The formal flower beds on the North/South axis that flank the tree alee need to be completely replanted and restored. There is a smaller circular bed in middle that is off center and out of scale with the flanking flower beds. John proposes to re- center and enlarge the circular flower bed, restore the missing flanking bed and re- plant. We discussed using bulbs planted for continuous color and display though out spring - autumn. John said that they would put the project out for bid and mentioned using Foegley and Ginger Valley in the bidding process. I suggested that the actual planting could be done using volunteers either from the surrounding historic districts and/or Master Gardeners through the Purdue Extension in the County City Building. I also suggested using blood meal on the bulbs to deter the squirrels from eating the bulbs. John also wanted to know if picnic tables could be used near the Duck Pond. These tables would be seasonal, not permanently fixed and allow for more usage of the Park. I didn't think that they would pose a problem. I related to John that I didn't think that re- storing these flower beds would require COA approval by the Commission since he was restoring an original and documented feature even though the specific original plantings may not be known. I will research the 1910 -1940 annual reports of the City of South Bend and the Park Commission for guidance. We walked back to East Leeper and examined the Garden of Fragrance and what could be done to salvage that feature. John mentioned that this would not be addressed this year and that he was dealing only with a portion of the 2 -3 years of grant money that was allotted for Leeper Park that still required Phil St. Claire's approval. We looked over what was left of the Garden of Fragrance and also the "stage' area in front of the brick pump house. I mentioned that people had used this spot for out door weddings and John thought that planting shrubbery and floral displays that would bloom from May though July would be an option. There was also a stacked limestone retaining wall that would need to be repaired and the whine from the near by pump to be addressed. Catherine D. Hostetler, Director