Graham, N.C. ?EUR??,,????'??+ Mayberry in the 21st Century

By Kevin Burrows, Regional Editor

Sesquicentennial Park is located on the Northwest side of Courthouse Square. The fall mums are not yet in bloom, and the half-moon bed below the clock is a staged planting of pansies, portulaca and coleus, which are only used for special occasions and events.

The City of Graham is located in The Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina. Laid out in 1849 as the county seat of the newly formed Alamance County,

As the town?EUR??,,????'???s web site boasts: ?EUR??,,????'??Imagine Mayberry 40 years later and you might picture Graham.?EUR??,,????'??

In the back corner of Sesquicentennial Park is a Thornless Honeylocust tree with a base planting of Ilex vomitoria, and ?EUR??,,????'??Schillings Dwarf?EUR??,,????'?? Holly. In the background ?EUR??,,????'??Otto Luyken?EUR??,,????'?? Laurel is planted while begonias, (planted once in late spring, and replaced with pansies in late fall) add color to the foreground.

The Alamance County Confederate Memorial, which stands in front of the courthouse is decorated with begonias that are manually watered with a tanker truck two or tree times a week and weeded by hand as needed. Flowers are planted here twice a year?EUR??,,????'??+pansies in the fall, begonias in the spring because of their relatively low maintenance.

The Superintendent

Steve Scott has been the Landscape Superintendent for the City of Graham for the past 15 years and been working in the landscaping field for nearly 30.

His educational background consists of time at Elon University as well as North Carolina State University majoring in Landscape and Ornamental Horticulture before embarking on his career in the green industry. Recently Scott decided to head back to school in his spare time and in between our phone and email exchanges, he was extremely busy taking exams working towards a Public Administration Degree.

Located in Courthouse square, Sesquicentennial Park has a border of ?EUR??,,????'??Schillings Dwarf?EUR??,,????'?? holly. A tall evergreen is planted against the back wall along with ?EUR??,,????'??Blue Girl?EUR??,,????'?? holly. Carolina honeysuckle and Virginia creeper can be seen on the trellis of the gazebo. The new 2,500 square foot park features marble benches, brick walkways and a 400-pound bell, which sat atop the original courthouse in Graham prior to 1923. An automatic irrigation system is in place to water the area twice a week, but very little care needed for most of these plants.

The Crew

The Graham landscape maintenance crew consists of 10 full time employees, as well as six part timers who work a maximum of 11 months throughout the year.

Within his staff is a horticulture division. Three of the 16 landscape professionals work specifically to maintain the annuals, plants and flowers that can be found throughout the city?EUR??,,????'???s grounds.

Fescue has been harder and harder to keep up. By midsummer it will be burned out and new seed will have to be planted.?EUR??,,????'??+Steve Scott, Graham Landscape Superintendent

Budget

Graham?EUR??,,????'???s property maintenance budget this past year was $830,000, and the proposed budget for next year is $1.1 million. This plan accounts for the division?EUR??,,????'???s payroll, the capitol improvements that they will make, and for maintenance of machines and tools.

Graham grows nearly all of its flowers and plants at its 3000 square foot greenhouse, which has a mist system that propagates flowers, trees and shrubs from cuttings. The annual flowers shown are pansies, portulaca and coleus, which are grown from seeds or plugs.

Planting and Maintenance

The landscaping crew cares for over 100 acres of turf areas, including cemeteries and parks, as well as the grounds around public buildings, waste facilities, and water production and treatment plants.

Throughout Graham the turf is comprised mostly of fescue. However, in the 30 years that he has been in the business, Scott has noticed the summers have been getting hotter, therefore making it too hard for fescue to survive after June. While it may be the best looking, ?EUR??,,????'??fescue has been harder and harder to keep up,?EUR??,,????'?? said Scott. ?EUR??,,????'??By midsummer it will be burned out and new seed will have to be planted.?EUR??,,????'?? But despite its fragility, fescue seed is used throughout the region. On the other hand, the turf on playing fields is mainly comprised of Bermuda grass. The Graham crew then overseededs these fields every fall with annual ryegrass.

Tom Zachary Field, named after a Graham native who played against Babe Ruth. Used by high school, American legion, and adult leagues, its Bermuda grass is mowed three times a week during the summer. The infield is equipped with a manual irrigation system and is watered daily during the hot summer months.

Flowers

They horticulture division cares for about a half-acre of display beds throughout the city. ?EUR??,,????'??We try to highlight all of our properties with some color, even if it?EUR??,,????'???s just a sign,?EUR??,,????'?? said Scott. The team plants mainly pansies in October, which survive until April. At that time and through early May, summer annuals are planted that will live until the first frost in late October.

The Maple Street Center for Performing Arts is surrounded by dwarf Burford holly, which is trimmed twice a season. The retaining wall, constructed of 12-inch ?EUR??,,????'??Castlewall?EUR??,,????'?? bricks, was built by the landscaping crew over the course of a week.

Trees

The municipality is lined with the Loblolly pines, which are native to North Carolina?EUR??,,????'???s Piedmont region. Oaks and maples are also found throughout the city and like the pines are trimmed often. While illness is not a major problem facing their trees, the team checks them carefully and performs preventative measures when needed.

Located on South Main Street, the Captain White House is home to the Alamance County Arts Council. Japanese and Compacta holly line the porch and Carolina jasmine can be seen on the trellis at right. Because they are minimal need for maintenance, these are trimmed only a few times a season.

Chemicals and Fertilizer

The landscaping crew tries not to use too many chemicals on the Graham?EUR??,,????'???s turf. However, Scott said, ?EUR??,,????'??Glyphosate is used under fences and areas that we don?EUR??,,????'???t want to weed.?EUR??,,????'?? Also, during the growing season lasting from March through October, a broad leaf combination herbicide is utilized for weed control.

When it comes to fertilizer, a 16-4-8 slow release formula is used to nourish the turf every spring, and ammonia nitrate is applied to the Bermuda turf on the sports fields in the summer.

Shown here during the Halloween season, the sign for the Alamance County Art Council is lined with a planting of fall pansies. The city owns and maintains this facility and volunteer groups assist with planting areas.

Equipment

The Graham team utilizes a number of machines to complete their daily maintenance, but without a doubt the backbone of their operation is their stable of lawn care equipment. In their garage you will find:

In addition to these, Graham employs a fleet of trucks to do the heavy lifting around town. With three 2500 series 3-quarter-ton service body pickups, three standard pickup trucks, as well as both two-ton and one-ton crew cab dump trucks; they are able to get the big jobs done. To keep their equipment in working order, all maintenance is done in-house at the Graham public works garage.

The turf in front of Graham?EUR??,,????'???s City Hall is made up of ?EUR??,,????'??Rebel Four?EUR??,,????'?? fescue, while yellow pansies line the building along with the crape myrtles on either side of the front door (known as ?EUR??,,????'??Carolina Beauty?EUR??,,????'??). ?EUR??,,????'??Otto Luyken?EUR??,,????'?? laurel is planted behind them and Yoshino cherry trees can be seen in the foreground across the street. This property has a fully automatic, underground irrigation system, which was designed and installed by the landscaping crew.

Challenges

While insects are a constant challenge, Scott said that they are in a ?EUR??,,????'??pretty blessed area where we haven?EUR??,,????'???t really had too big of a big problem with bugs.?EUR??,,????'??

Staying on time and under budget are challenges that all Landscape Superintendents face, and Graham, N.C. is no exception. But with his tree decades of experience, Scott has his team ensuring residents and visitors alike enjoy the small town charm of this 21st-century Mayberry.