8:25 a.m., Nov. 2, 2010----This spring, South Bethany will get a makeover, with new landscape beds in the median strips on Route One and at the ends of the canals that run through this .52 square mile town that's south of Middlesex Beach and Bethany Beach.

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As Sue Barton sees it, the beauty of this project lies in the fact that results aren't skin-deep -- the enhancements should improve water quality in the canals and in the Little Assawoman Bay.

Barton, a UD Cooperative Extension specialist for ornamental horticulture, is serving as a volunteer consultant to the town's Beautification Committee.

“When I heard about what South Bethany was trying to achieve, I was happy to offer my professional expertise,” says Barton. “Part of my Extension appointment is to keep people actively engaged in sustainable landscaping -- landscaping that is compatible with the local climate and requires minimal fertilizer, pesticides, water and other resources.”

“It's refreshing to connect with people who are committed to sustainable landscaping and who want to do the right thing. Hoperfully, these public spaces in South Bethany will be a learning ground and inspire people to create private spaces that are environmentally sustainable.”

Sue Callaway, who heads up the Beautifcation Committee and is a member of the town council, moved to the beach on a fulltime basis two years ago. It was the canals that first attracted her and husband, Robbie Callaway, to South Bethany and continue to be a major draw today.

“We own a small skiff; we love to kayak and we just love the views of the Assawoman from our windows,” she says. “I knew I wanted to get involved in preserving and protecting these canals.”

Callaway dedicated her working years to protecting children, not canals. She was part of the founding team of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. With no horticultural background, she was eager to tap into Barton's expertise, which includes the Enhancing Delaware Highways project, an environmentally sustainable plan for highway right-of-ways that received national acclaim.

“From a landscape design perspective, the existing beds in South Bethany shared a common mistake -- too many different things in one planting,” says Barton. “To make an impact in a large space by a roadway, you need to have big masses consisting of just one or two species.”

She recommended that the town consider planting native grasses, such as switchgrass, for water quality purposes, as well as aesthetics.

“A tall, dense grower like switchgrass does a much better job of slowing water down before it enters the canal than a planting of, say, petunias, which are just a few inches tall and don't form the kind of substantial mass that switchgrass does,” says Barton. “You want to choose species of plants that are ideal for trapping sediments and pesticides in rainwater and run-off so that these pollutants don't enter waterways.”

Fortunately, native grasses can be just as pretty as petunias -- more so, in Barton's eyes.

One that she especially likes is Dewey Blue Beach Grass, a blue-tinted native that grows about three to four feet tall. Another favorite is little bluestem, which has tints of maroon in the fall and settles in to a gorgeous apricot color all winter.

George Junkin, a town council member and head of the town Water Quality Committee, coordinates weekly collection of water samples from the canal throughout the summer months. He says that current conditions are not good; this past summer, two sampling locations exceeded standards for swimming due to bacteria levels.

He notes that the beautification effort also calls for the creation of rain gardens on several plots on Route One. “We'll create several new landscape beds on the median strips that will be depressed below the level of the road,” says Junkin. “This will filter runoff before it enters the canal.”

South Bethany has a limited budget and only 200 year-round residents but Callaway and Junkin are hoping townspeople, as well as summer-time dwellers, get involved in the town's beautification and water quality efforts.

The Beautification Committee recently introduced “Adopt-a-Canal-End” and “Adopt-a-Road-End” programs inviting area homeowners to take over the renovation and ongoing maintenance of road ends and canal ends near their homes. In addition, the committee is seeking volunteers for a community planting day to be held in the spring.

For more information about the South Bethany beautification project, or to volunteer, email Callaway at [sue.callaway@gmail.com].

Article by Margo McDonough