The City of Leesburg on Thursday assembled a large team of 90 public employees armed with rakes, chainsaws, shovels and lots of heavy machinery to spruce up scenic Venetian Gardens in advance of the Fourth of July holiday.

The effort removed more than 200 cubic yards of tree limbs, vegetation and other debris from the 65-acre waterfront park. That’s enough to fill 10 large roll-off dumpsters.

Many of the makeshift landscapers from Leesburg’s Public Works, Natural Gas and Parks and Recreation departments removed overgrown tree limbs, trimmed grass, picked up debris, cleaned waterways and laid out pallets of new sod. Large machines hauled away branches and piles of leaves, loading them into large trucks with dumpsters for removal from the park.

Tree trimmings and other landscape debris were hauled away to Leesburg’s former landfill site on Neely Drive, where it will be ground up and recycled into mulch.     

Prior to Thursday’s clean-up, the City cut back decades of overgrown plants from along the shoreline of Lake Harris.   

Venetian Gardens is located at 201 E. Dixie Ave. along the north shore of Lake Harris in Leesburg. Originally created in the 1930s, the historic park features a swimming pool, a large community building, boat ramp, marina and seven beautifully landscaped islands separated by tranquil, meandering canals. Pat Thomas Stadium includes a baseball field and seating for 1,500 people.

The park will host Leesburg’s annual celebration on the Fourth of July holiday. Activities include fireworks choreographed to music, food vendors, a concert, a Leesburg Lightning baseball game, free apple pie and ice cream and plenty of other entertainment. For more information, visit www.4thofjuly.leesburgpartnership.com.