Suwanee May Put an Orchard in Park Area

Suwanee officials love to tinker with White Street Park, and the latest possible wrinkle might be an orchard.

City Hall officials gave City Council members a briefing recently on a couple of scenarios in which an orchard with various types of plants and trees could be developed in the unused pasture area of White Street Park.

Local landscape architect Roger Grant was enlisted to draw up the prospective plans.

Among the plans could be a "winding path" through the area, which would be lined with benches as well as different types of trees, such as figs, pears and apples, creating a "you pick" type of area.

Also, a playground effect could be created for children.

"If we could go about planting edible plants ... it could be a great investment for our community," Grant said.

Jessica Roth of the city manager's office noted that an orchard could draw additional users to the park who are not gardeners.

In addition to the community garden, White Street Park, which is in Old Town, contains an amphitheater, several dogwood trees behind the garden, and a student greenspace project.

-- Do you think an orchard should be added to White Street Park? Tell us in the comments below.