(Updated September 2007)

A major beautification project called ‘Lexington Beautiful’ has been organized by the Fayette County Neighborhood Council.  A goal of the project is to see Lexington Fayette County remembered not only for our beautiful horses and horse farms but as a community blanketed with gorgeous flowers of every kind and color.   To meet that goal, we hope to get thousands of flowers planted and established before the 2010 World Equestrian Games.

Neighborhoods are invited to plant perennial flowers around 1600 street signs on 225 collector streets throughout Fayette County. Collector streets are those that have a 35 mile per hour speed limit. A few of Fayette’s well known collector streets are Boiling Springs, Bellefonte, Gainesway, Chinoe, Cramer, Lansdowne Drive, Martin Luther King Blvd. and many more. Lists will be made available to participating neighborhoods.

Street signs are on city-owned land and in general are maintained by nearby property owners. If the property owner doesn’t want to ‘weed and water’, then the neighborhood association will be asked to do so. The city is cooperating with the project.

Prior to the formal announcement of the campaign, gardeners, garden centers, landscape design experts were contacted for their advice, participation and support. Lists of perennials for shade and sun, designs for uniformity, beauty and color along with bed preparation and planting instructions are now available to participants.  Additionally, free mulch/compost are being offered to our neighborhoods involved in the project.

Money has been solicited from businesses, individuals, garden clubs and neighborhood associations to make grants to low income neighborhoods to buy plants. We hope that garden centers will offer discounts to project participants and that neighborhood gardeners would be willing to share established healthy plants.

We are extremely pleased to announce that Lexington’s well known equine artist, Adalin Wichman, designed the logo and a poster for Lexington Beautiful.

To promote participation, FCNC invited neighborhood association presidents whose associations expressed interest in  participating in ‘Lexington Beautiful’ to attend a ‘president’s flower summit.’ The summit, held last spring, enabled neighborhood representatives to meet and hear more specific details about the project.

Neighborhoods not represented at the summit may request collector and street sign location lists as well as many other details and contact information by calling FCNC’s number at 373-0793.  Although it’s too hot and dry to plant right now, it’s a perfect time to begin planning ways to beautify your neighborhood