Anniston's Xeriscape Garden

A new landscape addition has been completed in downtown Anniston. The Christmas Tree Park is located at the corner of Noble & 11th Streets. The small urban pocket park is surrounded by an elevated brick planter that is centered with a raised bed containing a large evergreen tree that is lighted during the holiday season. The park serves as a bus stop and contains many benches for pedestrians. The surrounding planter that encircles the park is subject to extreme heat and dryness in the warmer months. To offset the need for frequent watering, a XERISCAPE project was implemented.

Xeriscaping is a method of landscaping utilizing water saving strategies. In recent years, Alabama has been plagued by drought resulting in serious water shortages. By conserving water in all aspects of daily activities, we become better stewards of our environment. Xeriscaping conserves water consumption by utilizing plants that require less water to grow and thrive. Many native plant and plants from drier climates can tolerate drought and infrequent watering, and thus are great candidates for xeriscaping.

The park in downtown Anniston was a project involving the Spirit of Anniston, Calhoun County Master Gardener volunteers, and ACES.

A special thanks to those Master Gardener volunteers that worked to beautify our community: Linda Crow, Chella Baker, Jimmy and Sarah Sloan. Their hard work helped make this project a possibility.