b'FEATURE | c i t yFrom Seed to StreetscapeInside Lakelands Municipal Nursery and the Community Behind Itby SHAYLYNN MARKSphotos provided by KATRINA LYNN & CITY OF LAKELANDL STREETSCAPES, parks and public spaces dont begin with a purchase order.ability to oversee plants from the earliest stages LAKELANDS Instead, they come from the City of Lakelands municipal nursery, where the plants used throughoutgives city staff confidence in how those plants will the citys landscaping program are grown in-house. perform once they are installed across Lakeland.When you grow your own material, you know By producing much of its own plant materialworker for the nursery the past six years. Wereexactly what youre getting, Homuth adds.through propagation tactics, the City of Lakelandstarting to grow trees and small palm trees, butPlants raised at the nursery are later installed maintains greater control over cost, quality, andmainly our focus is growing annual plants fromby city crews in parks, medians, downtown areas long-term planningan approach city officialsseeds. and other public spaces. Since the city controls the say strengthens public spaces while supporting ef- According to Sierra, growing plants internallygrowing process, staff can better anticipate sea-ficiency and sustainability. The nursery is the onlyallows the city to stretch its budget further whilesonalneeds,replacements,andlarge-scalepro-city-owned nursery in the state. maintaining control over plant quality and avail- jects, rather than reacting to shortages or delays.CULTIVATING LAKELANDS LANDSCAPEability. That long-range planning also shapes how the IN-HOUSE That saves us so much money, he says. nurseryoperatesdaytoday,frompropagation What we do is we grow annuals, says MiguelDavid Homuth, who has worked as a groundsschedules to labor needs, allowing an open door Sierra, who has worked as a grounds maintenancemaintenance worker nearly three years, says theto partnerships that extend beyond city staff alone.Alia, Roxy and Miguel weeding milkweed Moving plants in18 | CFAN FloridaAgNews.com'