FTCC Helps Beautify Downtown Fayetteville NC’s “Hurley Pots”

Fayetteville, N.C. – The City of Fayetteville and Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) are partners for two fall plantings in the downtown area. The plantings will take place on October 7 and October 18. The Oct. 7 plantings will involve placing leafy greens and flowers inside the “Hurley Pots” along Hay Street. Members of the Epicenter Church recruited volunteers to paint the “Hurley Pots”. FTCC’s Horticulture Department grew and nurtured the plants. Members of the College’s Horticulture Club will help place the plants in the designated areas downtown.

Plantings on Oct. 18 involve additions to the Innovative Greenscape on Person Street. Ahead of the Oct. 18 plantings, construction crews will level soil and clean around the Innovative Greenscape infiltration basins at Person Street. The work is underway and should conclude by Friday, Sept. 24. Traffic and access will be maintained throughout this week’s prep work.

Below are details on each planting project:

Hay Street pot plantings

• Small, medium and large pots line both sides of Hay Street
• The pots were nicknamed “The Hurley Pots”. They were placed in the streetscape during Mayor Bill Hurley’s administration
• Prior to Oct. 7, Epicenter Church volunteers will paint the pots
• Pot painting is a yearly project
• Prior to Oct. 7, Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks and Recreation (FCPR) crews will remove existing dirt and vegetation from the pots
• FCPR staffers worked with the FTCC Horticulture Club to grow the new plants for the pots (June 2021 – present)
• The plants are housed inside the FTCC Production Greenhouse until the Oct. 7 planting
• Theme for pot plants: “Beautiful and Edible”. Leafy greens were selected for their ability to withstand the cold
• Plant varieties include: Dynasaur Kale, Bright Lights Swiss Chard, Red Giant Mustard, Purple Fountain Grass, Ornament Osaka Cabbage, English Ivy, Pansies and Violas
• Plant photos are here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/k7ytvndhr6oo28p/AACUHuLZ-qW6J10E9jOa-0UGa?dl=0
• The FTCC Horticulture Club will do the plantings on Oct. 7 (9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.)
• FTCC Horticulture Club Mascot Walker the Puppy may be in attendance
• The City budgets for plants each year. The plants for the Hurley Pots were purchased from FTCC.

Innovative Greenscape at Person Street

• The Greenscape is a combination of multiple types of stormwater control systems. It is located along Person Street, spanning just east of the roundabout at Cool Spring Street. It discharges into Blounts Creek. The system was originally constructed, in partnership with North Carolina State University, through a Clean Water Management Trust Fund grant. City Public Services staff members manage this aspect of the project.
• On Oct. 18, the FTCC Horticulture Club, alumni, FCPR and Public Services staff will do the fall plantings (9 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
• Traffic and access will be maintained during the planting event
• FCPR Staff, FTCC Horticulture Department and FTCC Horticulture Club partnered to grow the plants for the Greenscape (June 2021 – present)
• The plant varieties include: Pink Muhly Grass, Indian Grass, Red Switch Grass, White Coneflower, Arizona Apricot Blanket Flower, Blue False Indigo, Black-Eyed Susans
• Plant photos are available here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hu1ki7bs0n538a3/AABdK19fhzFi3vx_FLSc7sKna?dl=0
• More plantings will happen before the end of the year in other areas of the Greenscape.