Landscaping For Transit Stations

"Mike Sloan thought he was retiring last summer after nearly two decades as MARTA's attorney. But one year later, he just can't seem to wash his hands of the transit agency.

And these days, the affable lawyer's hands stay pretty dirty. An avid gardener, Sloan, who has since gone into private practice, is helping MARTA design and install landscaping at most of its 38 transit stations.

"I told them I wish I could charge them my attorney rate," said Sloan, on retainer for the ongoing project. "But gardening has always been a passion of mine, so I'm thrilled just to be doing it."

This spring, he and MARTA's Nick Lawrence, a landscape architect, headed up the first phase of landscaping 14 stations in diverse locations, and 21 will be added in the fall and next spring. It's no easy task, given the challenges of a drought coupled with the urban stresses of litter, bus fumes, pedestrian traffic and concrete-radiated heat. But given the results so far, it's also one that shows homeowners what's doable if they carefully choose tough plants."