Northampton Area Public Library recently underwent a new landscaping makeover.

Jenn Stumer, owner of Appalachian Creations Inc., designed and completed the project along with her company.

On Aug. 8 and 15, Stumer pulled out dead bushes and flowers and planted fresh new foliage. Some of the plant life put in were PJM rhododendrons, blue Atlas cedars and butterfly bushes.

This landscaping project could not have been done without the help of donors. Once the library's board of trustees approved the project, Stumer contacted several landscaping companies in the area to donate materials for the task.

Stumer was overwhelmed with how many companies agreed to help.

In addition to materials donated by various companies, Stumer also donated her time. The landscaping project was free for the library.

Library Director Melissa Hawk said she is thankful Stumer completed the project.

"It was basically her project. She contacted us and said, 'I want to do this for you,' and she took it, and she did it. It was amazing because there's no way we could have," Hawk said. "It was a miracle."

More than $1,000 in materials were donated and between Stumer's labor and extra labor from one of the companies she works, it totaled almost $4,000.

One of the reasons Stumer did the project was because of her business's values.

"Our business philosophy is to give back to the community," she said.

She also thought she could make the Northampton library more appealing from the outside.

"This could really be nice. This could be better," Stumer said.

"A lot of people come in from out of town and now it's something that we can really be proud of," Hawk said.

Northampton Area Public Library is located at 1615 Laubach Ave.

Visit the library's website for more information at www.northampton-apl.org.