Thomas A. Habitz, General Manager of Glen Eden Memorial Park (second from left) accepts the Eight Mile Boulevard Association Annual Beautification Award from (L to R) Carnel Nickey; Association Secretary/Treasurer; Tami Salisbury, Association Executive Director; and Gary Burtka, Association Chairman. It is the third year out of the last four that Glen Eden has won this distinction.
Glen Eden’s year round crew of seven and part-time crew of 5 devoted a total of 120 man-hours to the new entrance project in addition to their regular duties. Shown L to R: Maurice Cupp, Rick Perfetto, Craig Zitterman (Grounds Superintendent), Randy Mauck, Jim Maki, Greg West (Assistant Grounds Superintendent), Terry Cupp and Eddie Smith. Not shown: David Saylor, Kyle Ramthun, Kyle Wilson, Brandon Ross, Chelston Ross and Mike Gibbons.
Sean Stoops undertakes Glen Eden’s weekly grass mowing. His commercial mower cuts a five-foot swath, averaging about an hour an acre. That’s the equivalent of mowing 60 football fields ever week!
Along the fence a pink flowering Crabapple tree know as Velvet Tiller acts as a centerpiece for Red Twig Dogwoods, featuring green and while variegated leaves, and Compact American Cranberry variation of Arborvitaes.
The entrance to Glen Eden welcomes visitors with a display of boxwood, grasses and a colorful array of annuals.
Glen Eden’s attention to beautiful landscape design and ongoing maintenance has caught the attention of the Eight Mile Boulevard Association. Tami Salisbury, Executive Director of the Association says, “Glen Eden is among the top properties on the Eight Mile Corridor. We appreciate their continued efforts to enhance the grounds and are delighted to acknowledge them this year as a Beautification award recipient.

FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 19, 2007

New Entrance Landscaping Leads to Another Award for Glen Eden Lutheran Memorial Park
 And what it takes to keep a 140-acre cemetery beautiful.


  
Director of Operations Craig Zitterman’s recent landscaping design for Glen Eden’s entrance caught the eye – and the appreciation – of the Eight Mile Boulevard Association judges, who have again named the Memorial Park one of the top winners of their Annual Beautification Award.

It’s the third year out of the last four that the Association has cited Glen Eden for its overall appearance, from the nearly 1,900 properties it judges. Tami Salisbury, Executive Director of the Eight Mile Blvd. Association, said, “Glen Eden Lutheran Memorial Park is among the top properties on the Eight Mile corridor. We appreciate their continued efforts to enhance the grounds and are delighted to acknowledge them this year as one of the Eight Mile Boulevard Association Beautification award recipients.
  
This year’s entrance work was a special project drawing on Zitterman’s 25 years experience for its design and plan. Focal points are located along the fence, at the arched entrance and in one corner. Using the natural properties of different native plants, each focal point features a tall center surrounded by a variety of heights, colors, leaf shapes and textures. The plan also takes advantage of seasonal changes in color of the various plantings.

At the fence, Zitterman used pink flowering Crabapple trees known as Velvet Tillers as centerpieces, with a variety of shrubs and dwarf bushes – Red Twig Dogwood with green and white variegated leaves, Korean Boxwoods, Dwarf Lilacs and Burning Bushes.
  
The two focal points at the entrance archway each center around a White Weeping variety of Crabapple tree, with more Boxwoods and a colorful array of perennials, including Black Eyed Susans, Purple Cone flowers and Moonbeam Coreopsis.
    
The overall design is complemented in one corner with Amelanchier (Serviceberry) and a Compact American Cranberry variation of Arborvitae.
  
 Glen Eden’s year round crew of seven and part-time crew of 5 devoted a total of about 120 man-hours to the special project, in addition to their regular duties.
 
What does it take to make and keep a 140-acre cemetery so beautiful that it continually wins awards? Ask Zitterman and you start to get the big picture. Make that a huge picture. 
 
Every year, the grounds crew lays 800 yards of sod – enough to cover a baseball park’s infield. Most people with lawns buy their seed by the pound; Glen Eden’s seed purchase orders are measured in tons – two every year. And while you may buy a flat or two of plants, with 48 annuals per flat – Glen Eden budgeted for 200 flats this year. To water all this, Glen Eden supplements Detroit’s average annual 32 inches of rain with water from its own spring-fed pond.
  
Glen Eden’s grass is mowed every week during growing season, with commercial mowers that cut a five-foot swath, averaging about an hour an acre. That’s the equivalent of mowing 60 football fields every week! The cemetery’s 75 acres of lawn are fertilized four times a year. One of Zitterman’s tips for home lawn care is an easy-to-remember formula for when to fertilize – on or around four holidays – the first at Easter time, the second around Memorial Day, the third at Independence Day, and the fourth feeding anytime between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. For Glen Eden, that adds up to a half-ton of fertilizer every year. 
  
Fertilizing is part of another tip to home gardeners. The key to growing beautiful, healthy gardens, Zitterman says, is to pay careful attention to the soil – keep it well drained and fertilized.

“The outstanding work of our groundskeepers is a fitting tribute to the memories of the loved ones we honor here,” said Thomas A. Habitz, General Manager of Glen Eden. “And we’re very honored to have been chosen for this prestigious award for the third time.”

The Eight Mile Blvd. Association was established in 1993 and began presenting the Beautification Award ten years ago to encourage property owners to go above and beyond the everyday in maintaining their property appearance. Each summer a committee representing various businesses and communities located along Eight Mile Road take part in evaluating the many properties that line the 27-miles of roadway that stretches from I-94 to I-275. All properties along the route are considered -- office parks, malls, big box stores, independent shops, private residences and cemeteries.


Glen Eden Lutheran Memorial Park, founded in 1929, is a non-profit cemetery, and owned and operated by a community of Lutheran churches. Glen Eden has two cemetery locations, in Livonia on Eight-Mile Rd. and in Macomb Township on 26-Mile Road. Glen Eden also administers the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer Columbarium in Birmingham. Glen Eden takes great pride in providing families of all Christian faiths with individual care and understanding, holding to the highest standard of excellence. Glen Eden is strongly endowed and funded for perpetual maintenance. For more information on Glen Eden contact Thomas A. Habitz at 248-477-4460 or visit the website at www.glenedenmemorialpark.org.

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