Parts of Montrose Gardens need replanting after being trampled during Oktoberfest

Parts of the newly planted Montrose Gardens won’t be blooming anytime soon because nearly a quarter of the drought-tolerant plants were trampled by pedestrians during this year’s Oktoberfest.

The city recently removed 18 plots of grass along the sidewalks on Honolulu Avenue and laid out hundreds of new plants with the goal of using significantly less water.

This year’s Oktoberfest was held on Oct. 3 and attracted more than 20,000 people.

About 25% of the vegetation along Honolulu west of Ocean View Boulevard was damaged, even though one of Montrose’s biggest annual events was taken into consideration, said Koko Panossian, the city’s park services administrator.

“[Oktoberfest] was one of the reasons for the initial sparse planting and more decomposed granite to allow for foot traffic for Oktoberfest and similar events such as the parade, arts and crafts,” he said in an email. “Oktoberfest was our biggest concern.”

Melinda Clarke, president of the Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce, said she hasn’t received complaints about the damaged plants, but she said she did urge that the initial garden project be postponed because of the approaching fall event.

“I didn’t hear anything from the Montrose Shopping Park Assn. I did say I wish they would wait until after Oktoberfest to give the plants a chance to thrive,” Clarke said.

And it would have taken them about a year to fully mature, Park Services Manager Chris Peplow told the News-Press just before the project got underway during the latter half of the summer.

Most of the plants affected by foot traffic were near Honolulu and Ocean View where people tend to congregate, while patches near Avignon’s and Montrose Bakery looked untouched, said Steve Pierce, the shopping park association’s communications administrator.

While he would have preferred to keep the grass landscaping, he said he’s more receptive toward the drought-tolerant plants nowadays.

“In general, we’re getting used to it,” Pierce said. “It’s certainly acceptable right now.”

Panossian said there will eventually be a replanting effort, but likely not until November or December because crews are tied up with a landscaping project at City Hall, irrigation renovations at Pelanconi Park and storm work prep for the anticipated El Niño this winter.

The Montrose Gardens project costs about $4,500, and it will take another $500 to replace the damaged flowers. The replacement price tag could have been higher, but there are some unused plants stockpiled in case of damage from foot traffic, he said.

But if the plants get a chance to fully grow, they’re less likely to see the bottom half of a shoe.

“People would be less likely to walk over fully-grown plants,” Panossian said.

--

Arin Mikailian, ArinMikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian