The southeast hillside at Bronxville's Pondfield Road railroad overpass now sports boulders, native plants and 300 new daffodil bulbs.
The Bronxville Beautification Council (BBC) and the Village Department of Public Works (DPW) completed the naturalistic makeover as a test run. The pilot will guide landscaping of the three remaining slopes at the overpass in 2027, BBC member Hershell George wrote in an account for MyHometownBronxville.com.
DPW workers hauled large boulders from the common Eastchester town yard and dug them into the slope to anchor the design. Rhododendrons, low-spreading juniper and perennials went in around the rocks, with native species used when possible. The crew then tucked 300 daffodil bulbs alongside existing ones and topped everything with a thick layer of mulch.
The new design is expected to be easier to weed and maintain than the previous landscaping, according to George's account.
The project started when Village Administrator Jim Palmer, George, and DPW staffers Victor Lema and Gus Joaquim met at the site to discuss options. Joaquim used an AI tool on the spot to generate an image of the hillside with boulders and perennials.
Palmer presented the concept to the mayor and Village trustees, who approved a single-slope test. BBC board member Amy Brown then joined George in working alongside the DPW crew on material selection and placement.
The BBC, a volunteer-run nonprofit founded in 1982, has more than 50 volunteers who have planted over 5,000 plants so far, according to the organization's website.
