New Planters for Ellwanger & Barry Park

July 10, 2011

In July 2011 Volunteers for the Highland Park Neighborhood completed the installation of a set of new planters for Ellwanger & Barry Park. The planters were funded by the City of Rochester’s Capital Improvement Program. The project was designed and approved while working with the City South-East Quadrant Team (along with the Neighborhood Association) and marks the conclusion of the efforts that began with the commission of the park’s new Sculpture.

The Rochester Grape

Our choice to use wine barrels was originally suggested by City Horticulturalist Michael Warren Thomas who helped in the design and construction of the sculpture garden and also provided plants for the new planters. While we made every effort to obtain the barrels from a local winery, eventually we found available stock online. So our barrels, made of French Oak, were originally constructed in Bordeaux, France and then next moved to Napa Valley where they were used to age wine of the Silverado Winery. After arriving in Rochester, Highland Park Neighborhood Association volunteers drilled drainage holes, added drainage screening and fastened all loose Barrel hoops and plugged the bung holes. We filled each of the four half barrels and five three quarter barrels with drainage materials, potting soils and some water retention crystals. In early July, the planting was completed.

Ellwanger & Barry’s Mt Hope Nurseries were famous for their wide varieties of commercial fruit stock including a new strain of grapes that they introduced named “Rochester”. So we believe these new planters maintain those Connections in our park named in their honor.