Liberty master gardeners keep the township in bloom

LIBERTY

They’re tall and they’re colorful, so they’re good at getting attention.

But they don’t require much, so they don’t really need it.

They’re a bright spot for people who drive by them on the ramp to Interstate 80 from Belmont Avenue in Liberty Township, but if the hot sun beats down on them for days at a time with no relief, that’s OK — they stand up to their job from spring through summer and into fall.

It’s no accident they’re that way.

It’s by design, from about 35 dedicated volunteers who put them there.

They’re the flowers in the bed along the fence between the ramp and the Fortune Garden restaurant on Belmont, one of 26 community flower beds — and official welcoming committees to Liberty Township.

Janet Yaniglos, one of four master gardeners who lead the volunteers in their group, called Liberty in Bloom, introduced some of those plants Thursday morning while she and others worked in the bed, weeding and planting petunias that were donated by John Hinely from Colonial Gardens, a garden center in Vienna.

The profusion zinnias branch out in many blossoms from one stem that can be seen from a distance, and the big, flourishing hibiscus bush with the lone, large flower grew from a seed in a package that was given to township Administrator Pat Ungaro. The Maximilian sunflower bush, healthy, green and dotted with cheerful yellow flowers, was rescued as a half-dead little plant on sale for $1 at Lowe’s by Carol Cupan, another of the group’s master gardeners.

Behind all the other plants, pink and purple morning glories were clinging gracefully to the fence.

The gardeners try to pick drought-resistant plants, so if they don’t get watered for weeks by volunteers who are otherwise busy, they’ll be OK.

Read more on the group and their creations in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.