Mangrove Gates wins Florida Federation of Garden Clubs award

Mangrove Gates, a Boynton Beach Art in Public Places project at the PNC Bank at 1620 S. Federal Highway, won the Unsolicited Award for Planting in a Public Space by the Florida Federation of Gardens Clubs.

As one of four categories under the unsolicited landscape design awards, the award recognizes well-designed and well-maintained landscaped areas in the public sector.

Barbara Hadsell, a member of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs in District X, said, "We are intrigued by the landscape architect's concept and vision of the design encompassing the whole bank area, and not just a feature at the entrance."

"The project is well conceived, requires little maintenance and translates information about native and indigenous Florida plants to the public," she said.

The Boynton Beach Garden Club submitted the entry to the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs District X, which covers the area from Sebastian to Boca Raton.

Submissions were judged by first impressions, suitability of design to purpose, design, implementation, maintenance and final impressions.

Inspired by the Mangrove Park and boardwalk in Boynton Beach, Matt Rowan, environmental artist and designer, and Jonathan Toner, landscape architect, set out to create a thought-provoking and evolving piece of environmental art and bring awareness of the larger environment to the public.

The installation comprises sculpturally undulating supports emulating the rivers of grass in the Everglades, and the water and winds that create constant movement.

Part of Rowan's goal was to integrate the natural world with the man-made world and to engage the building as an organic growth and a reminder of the interplay between man-made structures and the natural environment.

"Mangroves and the sensitive coastal environment are kind of magical," Rowan said by phone from his office in Washington, D.C.

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Mangrove Gates wins Florida Federation of Garden Clubs award