Harrison Township

Sign program rewards yard work, green thumbs

By Julie Snyder
C & G Staff Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by Julie Snyder This Great Gardening sign was placed in Harrison Township resident Jill Westlott’s yard last week. Photo by Julie Snyder This Great Gardening sign was placed in Harrison Township resident Jill Westlott’s yard last week.

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — Jill Westlott wakes up early each morning so she can either take care of herself with a yoga workout or keep up with the demands of owning a very old home.

She then spends an hour of each day maintaining the lush landscaping on her property nestled on North River Road, between the Belvidere Bay and the Clinton River, in Harrison Township.

Though she’s lived in the home since 1971 — the former cottage was built sometime in the early 1900s — this summer is the first that she’s been recognized for her gardening efforts.

There are two reasons for this.

“I never was able to maintain it perfectly until now,” said Westlott. “We had such a great spring, I was able to start weeding and planting in March and worked throughout a beautiful March and April.”

Today her myriad vivid perennials and annuals are blooming and her lawn is lush, though with the extreme heat as of late, constant watering is essential.

“When we had those terribly windy days around the Fourth of July, I lost two trees,” said Westlott, who calls gardening a hobby that she loves. “That set me back, but now it’s been taken care of and now it’s better than ever.”

The additional two months of work she put into her gardens and lawn have paid off, now that Westlott is one of the first wave of residents to be recognized by the Harrison Township Beautification Commission through its Great Gardening sign program.

Beautification Commission member Susan Keehn said she was drawn to Westlott’s home by the long, flower-lined driveway. Closer to the home itself, she observed an exotic lawn with well-maintained plants and flowers, some residing inside charming containers.

“Her gardening efforts are everywhere,” said Keehn.

It’s those efforts that members of the Beautification Commission are looking for as they drive the street and roads of Harrison Township, looking for those homes where it’s obvious the owner has played a large part in making and keeping their lawns beautiful.

They started erecting signs on Aug. 6, and more than 200 will be seen around the township when the Great Gardening program concludes at the end of the month. Keehn said 50 signs will be placed each week.

“The goal is to recognize special gardening efforts that the residents do, which has an impact on beautifying our community,” said Keehn. “We’re looking for those that have wonderful curb appeal or it looks like someone did a great job.”

The Beautification Commission is also involved in the Veteran’s Memorial Garden project, members are responsible for maintaining and watering gardens around the township and its parks, and they head the self-sustained Memorial Bench program. Keehn said funding for many of their projects and activities, including paying for the materials to make the Great Gardening signs, come from fundraising and from donations.

She also said the commission gets many of their ideas for different beautification projects around the township through their involvement in The Beautification Council of Southeast Michigan, whose parent group is the nonprofit educational organization Keep Michigan Beautiful Inc.

“As a group we meet with them and other commissions from other cities and townships and share ideas,” said Keehn. “The Great Gardening signs idea came from the Cheboygan Beautification Commission. We thought it was such a great idea.

“The homeowners who get a sign in their yard can take it out if they so feel, but we hope they keep them in because we’re proud of them. In our heart of hearts we’re just excited that residents are excited about gardening.”

The Harrison Township Beautification Commission meets at 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month at the Tucker Senior Center, 26980 Ballard.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Julie Snyder at jsnyder@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1039.