Blog: City Blog

#KnoxvilleJobWellDone: Meet the Man Behind the Landscaping on Market Square

They're fondly known as the six most beloved trees in Knoxville. You know them - the sawtooth oaks that grace and shade Market Square.

Joe Collins took note of the threadbare area at the foot of the trees, and he knew he and his Public Service crew could do better.

"It looks really good now," says the crew foreman, with obvious pride. "It's nice and green and colorful."

Foreman Joe Collins

The highly-visited spot has always been a challenge. When festivals are in full swing, the grass gets trampled. Collins' crew had tried mulching the area. Then they spread pine straw.

Still not satisfied, this spring, they laid down sod and built new beds, planting gold-leaf aucuba, laurels, begonias and azaleas.

This week, in celebration of National Public Works Week, City Blog is profiling some of the City professionals who work behind the scenes to make the City function better and look better.

Collins was a newbie landscaper when he came to work for the City six years ago.

"I enjoy landscaping a lot," he says. "I enjoy coming in every day, and that says a lot about a job. I learn a lot, and I've got a really good crew. They know what to do."

Here's a small gallery of some of Collins' crew and their handiwork:

Public Service employees improved a shady section of Market Square where it has been difficult to grow grass. They laid down sod and built new beds, planting gold-leaf aucuba, laurels, begonias and azaleas.

Public Service employees improved a shady section of Market Square where it has been difficult to grow grass. They laid down sod and built new beds, planting gold-leaf aucuba, laurels, begonias and azaleas.

From left: Downtown crew members Maria Cocita, Lucas McBee, Joe Collins and Horticulture Manager Mark Wagner

Public Service employees improved a shady section of Market Square where it has been difficult to grow grass. They laid down sod and built new beds, planting gold-leaf aucuba, laurels, begonias and azaleas.

Posted by evreeland On 18 May, 2021 at 10:28 AM