What is going on in the woods near the Allée?
It’s not only masonry repairs and drainage improvements, the Allée rehabilitation project includes a number of nature-focused initiatives. The first of these is the eradication of invasive plants – woody shrubs and vines that were smothering native species in the natural areas flanking the limestone structure. Specialized professionals from Invasive Plant Control managed the eradication, and an army of volunteers pulled and stacked the woody material along the roads for Metro Parks to collect and remove. The resulting landscape allows park visitors to enjoy scenic views from the Allée into the flanking forest and on toward the natural areas beyond.
A second project was the work of a skilled arborist to prune selected tree limbs and to re-establish the commanding scenic overlook from the top of the Allée toward the Percy Warner Memorial Sandstone Entrance and Belle Meade Blvd. These improvements also re-established the scenic views toward the Percy Warner Golf Course and the World War I monument plaza.
The third component of the effort includes a landscape design plan by Tara Armistead Landscape Architecture for woodland restoration on each side of the Allée. The plan calls for sowing native wildflower seed mixtures and the planting of other species native to the Warner Parks (pictured above). Finally, the plan will lay out details for required annual maintenance to ensure a sustainable future for these natural resource improvements.
The Allee rehabilitation project represents one of three priorities of our ongoing It’s My Nature Capital Campaign.
See a detailed list of native species that will be incorporated into the design below.
