Resident, Neighbors Chip in, buy Plants and Make Corner of 228th Ave. SE and SE 32nd St. Greener

As cars, vans and SUVs whizzed by on 228th Avenue Southeast on Saturday, Josee Landskov paid special attention to a sliver of land at the "T" intersection with Southeast 32nd Street.

In this little strip, she dug a hole and dumped dirt in it. Her goal before the day was out: To plant six or seven English Laurels.

But Landskov is not a city of Sammamish employee who was assigned to make the intersection greener. She is not a professional landscape artist.

She is a resident, who lives down the street on Southeast 32nd Street. "I enjoy it," the mom of two kids said, standing in her black rubber boots and pink gloves.

"It's good for them to see me work. My main goal is to teach them that you have to work hard."

She also doesn't think the city of Sammamish will have complaints. After all, she and five of her neighbors pitched in with their own money to add these hedges to what is normally considered to be public property.

Her neighborhood beautification efforts started two years ago. She said she added the grass, nearby bushes and plants, which her kids help water.

In recent months, this intersection and the barrier on Southeast 32nd Street have been in the public spotlight, as residents and the City Council debated whether to remove the structure.

Crews will remove it later this year and street improvements will be made to the area. sits on the other side of 228th Avenue Southeast.

For the Landskov family, at least on Saturday, the main objective was to make sure those English Laurels were planted.

"Do you want me to dump this?" Gregg Landskov, her husband, said, as stood next to a wheelbarrow.

"It was her idea," he said. "She saw the weeds coming in."

People also have taken note. "They say, 'Thank you very much for making the improvements,'" she said.

After she had planted one of the English Laurels on Saturday, she took a step back to look at it. "It's pretty," she said. "It feels good."