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street and sidewalk that now boasts 15 young trees surrounded by <br /> crimson clover, orange poppies and several other lush species. <br /> The plantings are a joint project of the nonprofit Eugene Tree <br /> Foundation, the city and the property' s owner, Jenova Land Co. <br /> Lanza, a tree foundation board member, works as a landscape <br /> architect at Stangeland & Associates, whose offices are on the <br /> northeast corner of Third and Lawrence, kitty-corner from REI . <br /> When Lanza first floated the idea of improving the right-of-way, <br /> the city said it didn' t have the money. Jenova Land Co. , <br /> meanwhile, concluded that the city' s requirements for improving <br /> the space, including engineering costs, would be prohibitive. <br /> So a deal was struck: The city would provide the engineering and <br /> labor, then forward its bill to Jenova. <br /> The young trees, including Oregon ash and big-leaf maple, were <br /> planted along Third and Lawrence last spring. The beds were <br /> seeded last spring and early this year with a mixture of <br /> perennials and self-reseeding annuals, including ox-eye daisies, <br /> tall camas, lupine, alfalfa, red-flowering currant, Oregon grape <br /> (mw and more. <br /> "It' s an alternative approach to commercial landscaping, <br /> especially in the public right-of-way, " Lanza said. "We want to <br /> see more life in downtown, and we feel we can do better than the <br /> conventional bark mulch and lawn. " <br /> What' s neat about the curb life is that it keeps changing as the <br /> various species fade and flourish in response to their natural <br /> seasons and the amount of tree shade provided. <br /> "It will look different from what' s there now in two weeks and <br /> in two years, " Lanza said. <br /> In addition to better aesthetics, the plantings make functional <br /> sense, he said. The low-maintenance project involves no <br /> fertilizer or pesticides and very little water, he said. <br /> "It gives more than it takes, " he said. <br /> The project could have died when Jenova discovered it also <br /> needed to upgrade much of the worn-down curb to city standards. <br /> But Jay Fox, Jenova' s property manager, said the company decided <br /> to go forward. <br />