Chapel Valley Landscape Company, headquartered in Woodbine, Maryland, recently partnered with the Tuerk House, a non- profit substance abuse treatment provider, in Baltimore, Maryland, to transform and enhance the appearance of the main campus. The $35,000 in-kind gift project included the design and installation of new landscaping at the Tuerk House facility located at 730 Ashburton Street in West Baltimore.
Founder and Chairman, J. Landon Reeve IV and Chapel Valley landscape architect, Anna Buczkowska, met with the management of the Tuerk House to create a plan to breathe new life into the exterior of the facility. Anna achieved the concept goal of the design by planting groups of large deciduous trees; the growing tree canopies will reduce the heat and provide desirable shade for the Tuerk House clients and staff. The tree canopies will become the strong, structural elements of the overall landscape composition.
The design also focuses attention on the planting bed located between a pair of arched steps that lead to the main entrance. The plant selection includes shrub groups and flowering perennials along with spring-flowering cherry trees. It highlights and refines the representative style of the main entrance area. Plantings along the building walls are combined groupings of evergreen foundation shrubs, understory deciduous trees, and flowering plants that will create a pleasant and welcoming look of the designed area.
“Since its inception in 1968, Chapel Valley has been committed to supporting a variety of non-profit organizations in the markets we serve. We were especially impressed with the opportunity to include the residents of the Open Doors program in the installation process, working in a “buddy-system” with our employees to provide them training in both installation and safety practices,” said Mr. Reeve.
Chapel Valley installed the new landscape with the help of Open Doors, a program that offers Tuerk House clients an opportunity to clean up the environment and urban spaces in which they live while they are rehabilitating their own lives. The clients at Open Doors typically focus on landscape maintenance, but in conjunction with Chapel Valley, the men were able to broaden their skill sets by assisting in the installation of the new landscape around the Tuerk House.
The installation of the landscape took place over three days and Open Doors was involved from start to finish. The men learned new skill sets involving bed prep, tree, shrub, and perennial installation, staking and guying, and mulching. Chapel Valley’s Dave Pezenosky, Project Manager, lead a safety meeting before installation began. All of the men working on site were provided with safety vests and instructed on the property way to lift materials and stay safe while on site.
“Tuerk House has received an overwhelming number of positive comments from neighbors, board members, clients and staff about the recent landscaping project. It has transformed the exterior face of Tuerk House from a drab institutional structure to an attractive neighborhood centerpiece that sits on the crest of a hill surrounded by trees, shrubbery and a variety of plant materials,” said Valerie Wilson, Development Director for Tuerk House.”
“The new landscape will benefit Tuerk House by presenting a more friendly welcoming appearance to the public, whether they are neighbors, volunteers, or prospective clients and/or their families. The exterior of the property has been so enhanced that people will tend to have a more favorable impression of the organization and its work. Staff is developing more pride in the place in which they work and clients react more favorably to a treatment venue that has beautiful surroundings,” she added.
Chapel Valley Landscape Company is a full-service exterior landscape company that services Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC. They were founded in 1968 and are the 30th largest landscape company in the nation. Chapel Valley’s services include design/build, installation, comprehensive maintenance and landscape, irrigation/water management, hardscaping, lighting, green roof technology, and snow removal.