Most anyone driving along Harmony Road surely will have noticed the new median at the intersection of Lemay Avenue.

A definite HGTV contender, it features lots of river rocks, bushes and trees. It’s quite the sight, especially considering the decidedly pedestrian grass median just to the west.

But it sure looks expensive.

So The Eye asked: How much did this thing of beauty set us back?

Turns out, the city of Fort Collins spent $50,000 on it – a nice chunk of change that would buy plenty of grass seed or even sod.

Tim Kemp, capital projects engineer for the city, acknowledged that, as far as medians go, this one was expensive to build. But grass can end up costing a lot to water and maintain.

The new median, the first of its kind in Fort Collins, will allow the city to test whether it can save money in the long-term by using trees and plants that use less water. It’s also designed so that city crews will spend less timing pulling weeds.

“The goal is to cut down on long-term maintenance by using more sustainable plant choices,” Kemp said.

Sounds good.

Looking ahead, he said, if the city determines it can save