Horticulture

	Precinct One’s Horticulture Department does all the landscaping and annual color at Precinct One Parks, the Downtown Courthouse Complex, Precinct One Community Centers, Annexes and the El Rio Service Center as well as the beautiful flowers and greenery surrounding the Civil Courthouse at 301 Fannin Street, the Family Law Center, and Quebedeaux Park.

The Horticulture Department does all of its own growing of annuals and perennials.  Approximately 29,000 bedding plants are grown each season.  In addition to bedding plants, the department maintains the trees that have been planted throughout the Precinct’s Parks.  In March, some of the parks were reforested with the planting of thirty – 15gallon trees, fifty – 5gallon trees and 225 saplings.  A crew from the department, designs, installs and services all of the precinct’s irrigation systems as well.

The Horticulture Department has created a Seniors Gardening Program to enlighten seniors on various gardening principles.  The program includes many topics: flowers, vegetables, herbs, roses, organic gardening, container gardening, composting, fruits, grafting, insects and diseases, houseplants and landscaping.  Classes are held at the Hardy Seniors Center on the 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday of each month; Finnigan Community Center on the 1^st and 2^nd Friday of each month; and Tom Bass Community Building on the 1^st and the 3^rd Thursday of each month.  The program also allows seniors the opportunity to visit various gardens in the Houston and surrounding areas.

Currently there are two seniors’ vegetable gardens: one at Tom Bass Regional Park, Section III and the other at the Hardy Senior’s Center.    The department also conducts horticulture classes in addition to providing support to the senior and community gardens.