Don’t be alarmed!

The towering creature peering out from the landscape near the Emmaus Public Library is no monster.

Instead, the topiary, with a gleaming smile the color of copper and wide eyes, is a bookworm inviting patrons to the Emmaus Public Library, 11 E. Main St., Emmaus, thanks to the work of a group of Penn State Master gardeners, Emmaus Garden Club members, Girl Scouts, landscapers and many others, Emmaus Public Library Director Lisa Underwood highlighted in a recent get-together of volunteers and other helpers.

“[It] is a nice whimsical way to welcome visitors to the borough,” Underwood said.

The topiary stands as part of a landscape improvement project on the library grounds.

So far the project includes composting, edging, mulching and planting flower beds, adding a dogwood tree, installing trellises and more.

Borough of Emmaus crews removed an aging pergola from around the picture window facing Main Street and repaired an outdoor faucet to better facilitate watering of the new and established plants, according to remarks by Kathy Reinhard, vice president of the library’s board of trustees, at the event.

The project began with a vision, and a sketch, by Penn State Master Gardeners Becky Short, Audrey Erb, Lisa Walton, Lisa Wimmer, Paul Nahodyl and Gary Rohrbach.

A $2,000 matching grant from the Chamber Foundation, with the help of the Emmaus Main Street Partners, funded the project.

Reinhard highlighted the master gardeners as a “hidden gem” of the area.

“It was just such a labor of love,” Short said.

Arborist Anthony Paolucci, representing Bartlett Tree Experts, of Emmaus, said Mike Kline, of Fernrock Landscapers, dug the hole out by hand for the dogwood tree Bartlett donated to the project.

“We like donating,” Paolucci said of his employer.

The tree, called a “Cherokee Brave,” is native to the area and blooms deep pink in early spring. Paolucci explained.

The planting of the tree also allowed Paolucci to give Girl Scouts from Troop 63064, who were at the library to help with the flower beds, a lesson in tree planting. Ample water, he noted, is key to a tree’s health.

“I can see this be used as an area for a bench,” Paolucci said of the area near the young tree.

A dogwood stands in what was once the location of a yew shrub helping frame the library’s large window. The matching shrub on the other side of the window was transformed into the book worm topiary by Nahodyl and Rohrbach.

The bookworm’s segments will need to be trimmed two to three times a year to maintain the worm’s shape, Rohrbach said.

The initial trim involved removing areas of dead branches within the shrub. Feet and legs for the topiary are to be sculpted by metal artist Greg Molder who created the topiary’s eyes and winning smile.

Emmaus Garden Club members will maintain the area, adding the area to the club’s list of duties including maintenance of the garden at the tip of the library property where State Road meets East Ridge and East Main streets, a location Reinhard describes as “the gateway to the borough.”

The landscaping project is a work in progress as other improvement efforts continue at the library.

Work also recently started on the workroom used by the library staff and volunteers.

Meanwhile, the new landscaping remains an attraction for library patrons, volunteers, staff and other visitors to the library campus.

“The end result is just beautiful,” Underwood said.