Suffolk News-Herald

Imagine wending your way through a maze of boxwood-lined trails, accentuated with ivy-trimmed archways, topiaries and flowers like those that once bloomed in your grandmother’s garden.

Visitors and residents to the downtown historic district should be able to do that by this time next year, said Angela Koncz, a Suffolk Visitor Center employee.

Earlier this year, Koncz, who is also a master gardener, came up with the idea of planting an heirloom garden behind the visitor center. A $1,500 grant from the Clean Community Commission will help get the tourism department project off the ground.

&uot;I want to be a place that draws in the community,&uot; she said. &uot;This garden will be a piece of history. It’s a moment of time that we can give to the city.&uot;

Things will get started next month when compost donated by the Southeastern Public Service Authority is delivered, Koncz said.

A layer of compost more than a foot thick will have to be worked into the sandy soil around the Prentis House to provide to create an environment where the garden will flourish for future generations to enjoy.

The project’s success is going to depend on volunteers, who are needed to help plant and maintain the garden and the residents’ generosity in sharing heirloom plants, she said.

&uot;It won’t go up overnight,&uot; Koncz said. &uot;It going to take several months of hard work.&uot;

Volunteers will begin planting boxwoods and some flowers in October. The remaining flowers will go into the ground in the spring.

&uot;The Suffolk Master Gardeners have given us a grant of time,&uot; she said. &uot;They are going to give us as much time as it takes to get the project going.&uot;

The master gardeners are going to lay out and design the garden and oversee planting, she said.

Individuals who wish to help with the heirloom garden should call Koncz at 923-4710.