Beautifying Detroit’s Russell Woods-Sullivan neighborhood
Greetings from The Russell Woods-Sullivan Beautification Team! You may have noticed we’ve been hard at work on the planters in the park and on a major overhaul of the Russell Woods Sullivan Gateway. Between these two projects we had an incredible amount of empty space to fill with 12 park planters and the very large plot of land at the gateway. To get the large amounts needed, we reached out to two local businesses for donations in our beautification efforts and they were more than happy to oblige.
The Garden Bug located at 18901 Grand River Avenue in Rosedale Park went above and beyond with their donation of dozens upon dozens of perennial starter plants! Some have already been planted at the gateway with the rest to be split between the gateway and the park. They will continue bringing beauty to our neighborhood for many many years to come.
The park planters feature flowers provided by the City of Detroit Beautification Day, private donations in memory of loved ones lost to COVID and vegetables donated by a very local business. Each comer features a planter filled with edibles like tomatoes, peppers and herbs. These veggies were donated by one of our newest neighborhood business owners, Marwan, who operates at the comer of Livemois and Fullerton and was overjoyed to contribute to “his new neighbors.” As things begin to ripen, please help yourself to something from the “Russell Woods produce section” and enjoy!
While we are currently only focused on planting at the park and the major project at the gateway, we hope to add a few more activities, such as starting a garden club and a beginners gardening class.
The Beautification Committee will continue to tackle the big job that is the gateway and work in the park through the summer and hopes to add some holiday beauty throughout the seasons. If you are interested in joining us, please reach out via email to rwssa@board.org. We would love to have you!
Personal note from Sarah Leszczynski, Beautification Committee Chairman: I want to extend a very personal and a very huge thank you to everyone who has helped with our beautification efforts to make our jewel of a neighborhood sparkle a little brighter! Some truly amazing and dedicated members of this community have put their blood, sweat and tears into beautifying these areas and they make me ever so thankful to be a part of this neighborhood.