25 Years of Caring for Your Cherished Green Spaces
Did you know that the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has a dedicated team of Horticulture and Forestry professionals? The Parks Conservancy's horticulture and forestry team truly nurtures nature.
The team considers themselves stewards of the park gardens, meadows, woodlands, and related infrastructure. With a primary focus on maintaining Pittsburgh's bountiful flower gardens and caring for habitat restoration spaces in the parks, this small, but dedicated team ensures that many park improvement projects never return to a degraded state.
The team also stays up-to-date regarding best practices related to habitat restoration and sustainable horticulture. This is to ensure that your park system can serve as an example of innovative, sustainable, and beautiful land care options for the public to employ in their backyards!
Park lovers often associate spending time and caring for Pittsburgh's green spaces during the warmer months. Many are often surprised that our Horticulture and Forestry team continues working in the parks year-round.
During the winter months, the team works together in the parks, while also planning for the upcoming year. The team's wintertime work involves plant identification by their bark, twigs, and buds, allowing them to prune trees in woodland and landscaped areas of the parks.
Did you know that a fresh-cut tree branch is less likely to become infected by insects or disease because these organisms are dormant during this time of year?
A challenging task for the team is switching gears as they move into a new season. In the spring, summer, and fall, plants are actively growing. During these seasons, the team stops tree pruning and reduces woodland restoration, allowing them to shift their attention to gardening tasks. They dedicate an abundance of time during the warmer months replacing perennials and shrubs that may have died during the winter and pulling weeds and deadheading plants. This technique stops the plant from producing seeds which in turn tricks the plant into producing more flowers.
These are highly time-sensitive tasks, as they keep the garden beds from being overrun with weeds and ensures that the plants have every chance of survival by keeping them watered, especially new plantings.
So much excitement comes with moving into a new season, and the changes that occur in the landscape keep the team motivated!
This passionate bunch is dedicated to creating a thriving and healthy park system for all Pittsburghers to enjoy for years to come.