RICK McGIVERN, Finance Director,
TREVOR WILLIAMS, Construction Manager,
and BRYAN KNOWLES, Inniswood Public Gardens Manager
RICK McGIVERN, Finance Director
A signature attraction at Inniswood Metro Gardens has long been the Rose Trellis, with an arching display of a wide variety of carefully-tended roses. The rose trellis was added to the Rose Garden in 1988, built with funds donated by Cardinal Industries. However, when the outdoor wood structure began to show signs of decay over the past few years, the need for a major renovation or replacement was evident. Finding a contractor qualified to do the work was difficult. To make matters worse, cost estimates to fully replace the custom-made structure exceeded $300,000, a price tag that was simply too much. A new and more cost-effective approach was needed, so Metro Parks decided to handle the job in-house.
TREVOR WILLIAMS, Construction Manager
The Rose Trellis project entailed removing and replacing the existing trellis structure, reconstructing the center pergola and re-staining. An added challenge was the winter schedule, as the project had to be completed before the roses bloomed in late spring. Work started in January and was completed by the end of May. By using leftover lumber from the Blacklick Woods Canopy Walk project and small purchases from a local lumber yard, the total estimated cost of labor and materials was reduced to $75,000, a savings of more than $225,000!
BRYAN KNOWLES, Inniswood Public Gardens Manager
Built in 1988, the rose trellis is one of the oldest, largest and most iconic structures we have here at Inniswood. We felt it was important to preserve that history and maintain its design characteristics. While some changes to the trellis have been made, the overall size and shape is exactly the same. Most of the changes were made to increase the longevity and ease of maintenance, and will go mostly unnoticed by the casual observer. Once we removed the wood wrapping the posts, we discovered the posts to still be in excellent shape, allowing us to reuse them and save money on the project. The panels between the posts are essentially the same design, made with dimensional lumber instead of custom milled lumber, saving money now, and later if and when we need to make repairs. Their construction is also a little different, done in a way to make repairs down the road much easier. The beams across the top of each panel have a rounded top, instead of flat, to help shed water and reduce opportunities for wood rot. It was also important that we undertook the work in winter, when the roses were dormant. We were delighted that no damage was done to the roses and we are now in a really good blooming year, so everything is looking great.
There are two larger changes to the structure that are pretty easy to notice. First, the center back panel of the trellis in the terraced area of the garden was replaced with a framed opening. We will be creating a mulched path from that opening into the area behind the trellis to encourage people to explore this area of the garden. We intend to plant mixed beds of perennials and annuals in this area. The opening in the trellis will also hopefully help to reduce the urge for visitors to climb on and through the trellis, which has been an ongoing issue. People take this as a quicker way to get behind the trellis to have their photos taken there. Secondly, we have replaced the wooden benches attached to the trellis in the terraced area with stacked stone wall, with a limestone cap, to act as benches. This will be easier to maintain and elevates the look of the garden.
The brickwork of the terrace and patio is something we typically renovate every four to five years. One of our future plans is to remove the brickwork and replace it with the same kind of stacked stone used for the trellis benches, which we believe will provide a more pleasing look for visitors, as well as providing the same benefit of needing less frequent maintenance.
WOW! Great job! Thanks for the update.