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March 2000

Early Bloomers

Every spring, gardeners — in one overnight session — replant the over 700 hexangonal concrete jardenieres that are scattered throughout the city

On one of the year’s first warm nights, sometime just before the Easter holiday, about 22 men and women will exit a building on Eckhardt Schmidt Strasse in the river-bordering Au quarter of Munich. While the city sleeps, they will work diligently to complete their moonlit tasks. Evidence of their presence will be seen the next morning. Every spring, gardeners — in one overnight session — replant the over 700 hexangonal concrete jardenieres that are scattered throughout the city. Small evergreen trees and other winter plants are removed, replaced with pansies, forget-me-nots, tulips and daffodils — allowing Munich residents to wake up to a city redolent of spring. In addition, Munich’s parks and other open spaces are florally enhanced over a period of weeks. In preparation for the annual undertaking, 15 gardeners spend the winter months growing some 360,000 bulbs and 30,000 summer flowers in city greenhouses. But the work of the Hauptabteilung Gartenbau is far from finished after the last peony is planted: “We work year-round to keep Munich a green and lively city,” explains Simone Weiss, head of the press office at Gartenbau. “Throughout the summer, we remove trampled plants and those damaged by dogs and their soil-contaminating leftovers.” How much does all this beautification cost? Alas, on account of the “difficulty of procuring calculations from the financial department,” as Weiss puts it, the figure cannot be released. But most Münchner would agree that it is tax money well spent. <<< ssT

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