Within the last year, Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, Maryland has become the destination for many a shopping pilgrimage. Completed in October 1991, the renovation and expansion of this once sleepy suburban mall have exceeded everyone's expectations, resulting in a virtual renaissance for the center. To attract upscale retailers (including Nordstrom as a new anchor), CenterMark Properties hired RTKL, a leading multi-discipline retail design firm, to design the renovation of all public spaces (including the Boulevard Cafe's food court), the addition of approximately 40,000 square feet of new retail space, and a new four-level parking garage.

At Montgomery Mall, the mature framework of canopy trees along the perimeter proved to be an asset and a challenge. RTKL specified selective pruning and removal of some existing trees as well as removal of all existing ground-plane plantings. Smaller-scaled plantings were provided at the pedestrian entrances, while accent granite pavings convey a renewed attention to detail.

Another key to the project's success - and atypical for projects in the area - was the installation of a complete irrigation system to all exterior areas, including parking islands. Unlike most trees planted in a parking lot suffering from severe heat stress, these flourish. Consequently, the result is a comfortable entry-parking-entry sequence with the planting not only providing order and direction, but green relief from the typical sea of asphalt. In addition, RTKL accomplished this with minimal parking count losses, another commandment in retail site design.

On the interior, the same attention to detail is expressed in the delicate blossoms of seasonal plants that weave a pattern of color throughout the major spaces. Stately, Alexander Palms (right)accentuate the height of the courts in a grand manner while open canopied Black Olives create an ultimate dappled shape on the gallery floor.

Since the mall remained open throughout the installation, the project was phased over a 1 1/2 year time frame, subjecting each phase to close scrutiny. Fortunately, landscape contractors Chapel Valley of Woodbine, MD, was able to provide the highest professional quality over the extended implementation period. Interior landscape contractor Creative Plantings of Burtonsville, MD, provided and installed all of the annuals (approximately 50,000) which were concentrated at the mall entrances and utilized as accents for wayfinding along the ring road.