Forest Hills Connection || News and Life in Our DC Neighborhood
Covering Forest Hills, Van Ness, North Cleveland Park and Wakefield
by Ian Stevenson Several years ago, my father, Andrew Stevenson, ordered three colonies of three-banded Italian bees, three white hive bodies, two protective suits, and various tools. Getting bees was his project, but it soon became a family undertaking, and while my mother has certainly been the most helpful to him, when I am home […]
by Marjorie Rachlin Wildflower or weed? It can be in the eye of the beholder. Take a look at some of the interesting summer wildflowers you can see on roadsides and meadows nearby. Rock Creek Park and the Broad Branch stream restoration are good places to start. Swamp milkweed In early August this lovely native […]
by Mamatha Hanumappa If you are a regular visitor to the Van Ness farmers market, it is very likely that you do not need an introduction to the University of the District of Columbia. But did you know that UDC is a land-grant university in the heart of DC? Yes, UDC is the only urban […]
by Marlene Berlin Compari and Kumato tomatoes get me through the winter. At least, they try. But there is nothing like biting into that first big, bright red perfect tomato from the farmers market…. one that not so long ago was straight off the vine. It looks like all those beautiful but tasteless ones you […]
“Ready to rake, DC?” asks DPW’s 2018 leaf collection brochure. Someone needs to ask the trees. Some are giving up their leaves, but for the most part they are showing us their brilliant fall colors. Ready or not, the District began its first round of leaf collection this week. Homeowners who got the brochure in […]
by Marjorie Rachlin Some plants and shrubs thrive in the summer heat, and front yards in Forest Hills are using them in various ways. I drove around and took photos of some of the more interesting ones. We’ve forgotten that it was Lady Bird Johnson’s Beautification Campaign in the 1960s that got a lot of […]
by Marjorie Rachlin It’s time to look for the spring wildflowers in Rock Creek Park. Don’t wait – they don’t last long. They are called “ephemerals” because they bloom for a week or so, set seed quickly, and then the plants die back and vanish. In early April, I look for spring beauties, bluebells and […]
It’s the end of February. The deciduous trees are usually bare by now (if they’re not budding due to the spring-like temps this month). Yet this winter, some trees have been hoarding their dead, dry leaves. Casey Trees said in early December that trees weren’t letting go due to the unseasonable warmth. Rock Creek Conservancy […]
by Marlene Berlin The calendar says it’s mid-February. The weather says it’s spring. And nature is responding by presenting its buds and blooms. Some of these early bloomers are prized because they give gardens a shot as color in February, and in some cases as early as January, as Marjorie Rachlin explained this time last […]
The calendar says December. The weather feels like early November. And as confusing as it is for us, imagine what it’s like for the trees! The leaves on the ginkgo trees on Appleton and Cumberland Streets did not turn a brilliant yellow before they lost their leaves. Other trees are holding onto their leaves longer. […]
