Gardeners brighten Batavia

The Batavia Plain Dirt Gardeners have done it again -- making a public space prettier.

The club recently donated several large planters, worth about $3,000, to the city of Batavia. The planters are located in the plaza to the south of the Batavia Government Center.

They are near the bicycle/pedestrian bridge, a few steps away from the "Kaleidoscope" sculpture and planter the club donated a few years ago. When you look through the kaleidoscope, the flowers in front of it look like the colored pieces in a regular kaleidoscope.

"It looks quite beautiful and simple, but it is anything but (simple)," said club member Ruth Johnsen. The planters are supported on large limestone bases, and the club put careful thought into the plantings, which include decorative kales, asters and grasses for fall.

The club focuses on perennial and native-plant gardening. It designed and maintains the wildflower sanctuary at the Batavia Riverwalk, which winds around the government center. The club sells perennials from members gardens and local nurseries in May, and conducts garden tours, to raise money for scholarships and items such as the planters.

"When I stood there today and looked - they are just gorgeous," Johnsen said.