Here, horticulture is practical, visible, and tied to how people move through the city. Crews fill tree pits and planters with plants that can handle foot traffic, heat, and tough curbside conditions. Where complex underground infrastructure prevents in-ground planting, we plant above ground. Along a corridor, these small sites add shade, texture, and clear edges where people walk, shop, and wait for the bus. 

Where there is no irrigation, crews use mobile watering trucks and small add-on systems, following set schedules that can be intensified during heat waves and as new plantings take root. Tree pits and planters take abuse from curb activity, so crews regularly reset soil, prune, and clear trash on schedule to keep plants healthy and sightlines open. Several parties often share the formal and informal labor of the same block: city agencies, vendors, building staff, and neighbors. Our team knows how to coordinate across these groups to ensure consistent care. 

For pedestrians, the result is cleaner sidewalks, greener curb appeal, and seasonal color folded into daily routines. Planted and well-maintained streetscapes invite steady foot traffic, support small businesses, and make walking to work, school, and transit safer and more comfortable, especially in neighborhoods with limited tree cover. 

Plazas turn hard pavement into planted spaces where people can move through, sit, and meet. Plantings add shade, texture, and color that signal care and make the space feel more comfortable and usable during everyday routines for office workers, delivery staff, street vendors, and families. 

Sun, wind, reflected heat, and shallow soils can quickly stress plants, so crews select durable species and layouts that hold up under constant public use. Foot traffic compacts soil and daily activity scatters debris, so teams prune, reset soil, sweep, and remove litter on predictable schedules to keep surfaces clear and the plaza welcoming. Where water access is limited, mobile watering crews or supplemental systems keep containers and beds healthy through hot, dry periods. These tasks blend horticulture with custodial maintenance—cleaning, waste removal, light repairs, and furniture resets—so the plaza feels consistently cared for. 

Plazas depend on coordination among multiple partners—city agencies, business groups, and neighborhood organizations. The Hort’s role includes aligning maintenance expectations, monitoring MWBE vendors, and coordinating horticultural and custodial response times so the plaza remains safe, functional, and visibly stewarded. 

Many plazas create steady nature-based green-jobs for local crews hired and trained through The Hort. Our crews gain experience maintaining planters, trees, and seating areas in demanding public environments. 

At intersections once dominated by cars, plazas offer places to rest, meet, or eat close to transit. With regular horticultural and custodial care, plantings make these spaces feel safer, calmer, and more pleasant. For nearby businesses and the surrounding community, well-maintained plazas support steady foot traffic, extend the usable day in hot weather, and create a visible point of pride in neighborhoods with limited access to parks or trees. 

Open Streets are blocks with limited vehicle access so people can walk, cycle, sit, and gather more easily and safely. Plantings in mobile or semi-permanent containers guide movement, soften bare pavement, and create shaded, clearly defined edges for rest and street life. 

Schedules shift and furniture moves often, so crews use modular planters and coordinate placements with partners to keep emergency routes, deliveries, and bus corridors open while maintaining sightlines and clear crossings. With space use changing throughout the day and week, the emphasis is on steady, predictable horticulture and maintenance rather than one-time beautification. 

High foot traffic and frequent events require reliable upkeep. Teams prune, reset, water, and remove litter throughout the corridor to keep planters and pavement in order. Because long commercial routes rarely have on-site water, mobile watering systems and simple, repeatable routines keep plants healthy despite heat and heavy use. These tasks blend horticulture with custodial practices—trash removal, sweeping, light cleaning, planter resets—creating a unified standard of care that keeps streets welcoming. 

Many Open Streets create steady nature-based green jobs for local crews hired and trained through The Hort, who gain experience managing plantings, irrigation, and public-space care in demanding street environments. 

Open Streets offer places to sit together, clearer paths for strollers and wheelchairs, and a calmer block. For the neighborhood, these streets support community events, make it easier for families and young people to spend time outside close to home, and show sustained investment in shared public space. 

Medians and triangles are small planted islands of land that break up continuous stretches of asphalt. Low, hardy plantings add color and structure that make intersections easier to see, crossings more legible, and corridors feel more orderly and cared for. 

Space is tight, and exposure is full sun and wind. Crews select resilient, low plantings shaped to each island while staying below sightlines for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Roots face exhaust, salt, and heat, so crews prepare soils and add mulch on a regular schedule so plants stay healthy and the area stays clear for visibility and provides rainwater absorption that supports the city’s efforts to manage drainage. Water is rarely on site. Our mobile watering operations provide reliable water in these stressful and high-heat areas. 

For people driving, walking, and biking through, crossings feel clearer, speeds naturally ease, and corners look maintained. For a neighborhood, small planted islands demonstrate public care, soften wide roads, create habitats for pollinators, and help manage runoff and cooling along busy routes.