Lexington’s Gateway Triangle Garden Flourishes

After extensive planning and design, Lexington has installed a new garden as a gateway to its downtown district. The Gateway Triangle Garden project grew from Main Street Lexington’s (MSL) Design Committee and has been a high priority design project for the organization for several years. As one of the essential points of the time-tested Main Street Approach, Design supports a community’s transformation by enhancing the physical and visual elements of downtown while capitalizing on the unique assets that set the commercial district apart, and that’s precisely what MSL has done through this project.

Located at a significant intersection at one of the main entrances to downtown, the Garden consists of three raised concrete flower beds that surround a compass. Rebecca Logan, MSL Executive Director, and Lexington’s City Arborist chose vibrant, beautiful flowers for the flower beds that will be updated seasonally. ABL Landscape Architecture provided oversight of the project, as well as site drawings, material sourcing, and general coordination. The founder of ABL Landscape Architecture, Arthur Bartenstein, ASLA, also serves on the MSL Design Committee.

Support for the Garden project came from Washington and Lee University, the Virginia Military Institute, the City of Lexington, private citizens, and a meaningful contribution came from the Derrick Family Foundation Fund to use toward the purchase of seasonal flowers for the raised planters. The Lexington Garden Club also applied for and received a grant from Plant America, which they gifted to MSL for the purchase of groundcover and helped with its installation.

This truly collaborative project now sets the tone for Lexington’s downtown district, and the unique and distinctive design will welcome residents and visitors for years to come!