Thorns on trees along West Kingston Road can damage tires

The planting strip between the sidewalk and West Kingston Road that runs from Snippers Barber Shop to West First Street is undergoing a makeover to keep weeds out and bike tires inflated.

Funded by the Kingston Stakeholders, an offshoot of the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce, the redevelopment pilot project was designed by Laurie Larson Casteel of the local landscape architecture firm, The Larson Casteel Company. On May 21, seven Washington Thorn trees (commonly known as hawthorn) were removed with the help of Kitsap County Public Works and in their place, four native serviceberry trees were planted. The hawthorn trees live up to their name with thorns over an inch long that can wreak havoc on cyclists using the adjacent bike path. Tree wells with black barrier material were created around the serviceberry trees to keep roots from ruining the sidewalk. In between, on ground that was a magnet for weeds, pervious cement will be poured.

The wavelike design weaving ribbons of concrete with river and beach rock cobblestone Larson Casteel created was inspired by Kingston’s beaches and a life by water.

“I went with an abstract wave feel so there was an aesthetic but which also was sustainable,” Larson Casteel said.

Before concrete is poured, Public Works will excavate down eight inches. Between the concrete strips and serviceberry trees, certified arborist Annie Humiston will select perennials to plant around the existing lamp posts under the flower baskets. Together, the hanging flowers and street-level plants will produce explosions of color, and when volunteers water the hanging pots, the plants below will also get a drink.

The seven hawthorn trees removed are each available for a $125 donation. Funds raised from the sales will be used towards maintenance of the plantings. Humiston said that though hawthorns are a poor choice of tree to have along a street and bike lane, they make great bird habitats and have a showy fall flowering. Since the hawthorns were planted, she has voluntarily pruned them to keep sight lines open for drivers, a priority for Humiston who also serves on the Kingston Citizens’ Advisory Council and its Roads Sub-Committee.

Fred Hill Materials is donating the pervious cement and the concrete forms class from the Northwest Laborers school in Kingston that Humiston’s husband Matt teaches, is donating labor to create the forms and pour the concrete.

Until funding can be obtained to continue the redevelopment project further down West Kingston Road, the Downtown Kingston Association, with the help of a $500 Aloha Wright grant from the Kingston Garden Club, is planting Rubus calycinoides groundcover to keep out weeds and provide color, said Nancy Martin.

Rubus is a drought-tolerant, insect- and pest-resistant ornamental member of the raspberry family and a vigorous grower that will need to be pruned but is resilient to foot traffic, according to Jim Savage of Savage Plants who offered the plants at cost. Rubus produces small white flowers and salmon-colored berries, the foliage turning raspberry red in the fall.

Larson Casteel, along with the Stakeholders and DKA, hope the sustainable and aesthetic project along West Kingston Road is the beginning of many visual improvements to Kingston, and a step in creating an identity that serves as an attraction to visitors, not weeds.