Forsythia Traditional Cache

Ithaca is "Forsythia City".

It's a P&G if you park along Spencer RD, which I did, but it may not be proper parking. The cache info is at the bottom of the page, as usual. BYOP!

Forsythia

Forsythia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae (olive family). There are about 11 species, mostly native to eastern Asia, but one native to southeastern Europe. The common name is also forsythia; the genus is named after William Forsyth.

Forsythia are deciduous shrubs typically growing to a height of 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in–9 ft 10 in) and, rarely, up to 6 m (20 ft) with rough grey-brown bark. The leaves are borne oppositely and are usually simple, though sometimes trifoliate with a basal pair of small leaflets; they range between 2 and 10 cm (0.79 and 3.94 in) in length and, rarely, up to 15 cm (5.9 in), with a margin that is serrated or entire (smooth).

The flowers are produced in the early spring before the leaves, bright yellow with a deeply four-lobed flower, the petals joined only at the base. These become pendent in rainy weather thus shielding the reproductive parts.

It is widely stated that forsythia flowers are able to produce lactose (the milk sugar). Lactose is very rarely established in other natural sources except milk. However, the presence of lactose could not be confirmed. The actual fruit is a dry capsule, containing several winged seeds.

The genus is named after William Forsyth (1737–1804), a Scottish botanist who was royal head gardener and a founding member of the Royal Horticultural Society

Two species of forsythia are at the heart of the selected forms, for both species are variable, and garden hybrids: Forsythia suspensa and F. viridissima. "These two species are, as it were, the founder-members of the forsythia family" writes Alice Coats; they were the earliest species brought into Western gardens from the Far East and they have each played a role in the modern garden shrubs

Forsythias are popular early spring flowering shrubs in gardens and parks, especially during Eastertide; Forsythias are nicknamed the Easter Tree because its branches appear to be waving in praise of the resurrection of Jesus.Two are commonly cultivated for ornament, Forsythia × intermedia and Forsythia suspensa. They are both spring flowering shrubs, with yellow flowers. They are grown and prized for being tough, reliable garden plants. Forsythia × intermedia is the more commonly grown, is smaller, has an upright habit, and produces strongly coloured flowers. Forsythia suspensa is a large to very large shrub, can be grown as a weeping shrub on banks, and has paler flowers. Many named garden cultivars can also be found. Forsythia is frequently forced indoors in the early spring.

Commercial propagation is usually by cuttings, taken from green wood after flowering in late spring to early summer; alternatively, cuttings may be taken between November and February. Low hanging boughs often take root, and can be removed for transplanting. A common practice (known as layering) is to place a weight over a branch to keep it on the ground and, after it has rooted, to dig up the roots and cut the rooted part from the main branch; this can then be planted.

Forsythia suspensa is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs in Chinese herbology. Forsythia sticks are used to bow a Korean string instrument called ajaeng.

Ithaca: Forsythia City

The Ithaca Garden Club was a major force in the wildly popular forsythia planting campaign of 1953 and 1954 that earned Ithaca the nickname “Forsythia City.” A total of 11,300 forsythia bushes were planted in those two years all over town, with an additional 2,250 other species of shrubbery planted on private land.

In 1952, the City of Ithaca Department of Public Works, with Garden Club participation, drew up a master plan for planting forsythia bushes in multiple locations. Media attention from the Ithaca Journal and WHCU as well as from the Ithaca Chamber of Commerce, who viewed the idea as good for tourism, drew support from multiple quarters.  Indeed, it may be said that the forsythia campaign quickly became an expression of civic boosterism, symptomatic of postwar economic recovery and expansion. Local government, business and civic organizations joined forces.

In just two weeks, between April 1 and 15 of 1953, 7,000 forsythia bushes were planted on public and private land in Ithaca.  Public employees, volunteers including the scouts and nursing home residents, and home and business owners all pitched in to help.

Present-day Ithacans likely know the locations of many of the forsythia plantings   because they continue to thrive over half a century later. The Garden Club donated 1,000 forsythias along the west end of Willow Avenue between Franklin and Lincoln Streets for a cost of $500, purchased from the McGuire Nursery at the discounted price.  Prominent sites on public land in Ithaca with plantings given by other donors were University Avenue; Cascadilla Creek at Willow Avenue; North Cayuga Street from Fall Creek to Stewart Park; Elm Street at the former West Hill (now Lehman Alternative Community) School; Six Mile Creek at Giles Street opposite the former Memorial Hospital; and the old Ithaca Gun Company where 750 plants were placed.  Outlying areas included the Elmira Road and Dryden Road in the Town of Ithaca.

A great deal of local and state publicity resulted. The American Association of Nurserymen’s publication, Dividends, featured an article on the project. With so much attention being given to forsythia, Professor Ralph Curtis at Cornell, fearing an unhealthy reliance on a single species, wrote a piece in the Ithaca Journal suggesting alternatives to forsythia.  Local nurserymen then enjoyed an immediate demand for the spirea and other shrubs he had suggested. McGuire Nursery, in appreciation for all the business the campaign had thrown its way, announced an annual gift to the Garden Club for municipal planting, which began in the same spring of 1953 with dogwood trees and viburnum bushes that were planted by the City along Six Mile Creek. More than 4,000 remaining bushes were planted in 1954.

The cache is a tied in, camoed, small "small" pill bottle that you have to push hard to open and close. It holds a rolled log with a rubber band around it that's protected by a tiny zip lock plastic bag. Please BYOP and put it back as you found it or better. There's room for some tiny swag.