Old Douglass Garden Club September Newsletter

This review, written by an anonymous contributor, is part of Dispatches from 2120, a speculative-fiction project that imagines Washington, DC a century into the future. To learn more about the origins and intentions of this project, read author Josh Kramer’s introductory post. Introductory/end text and illustration by Josh Kramer, with compliments to the Brookside Bonsai Society.

Upcoming ODGC events:

• September 2: Monthly Meeting at Cultivate the City — sedges!
• September 21: Late season Trinidad neighborhood garden tour!
• October 3: Monthly Meeting at Cultivate the City — growing in Bubbles!
• October 19: Fall bulb giveaway at Casey Trees!

News Roundup!

• On Sunday, the last living beech in Douglass succumbed to the east-sweeping Beech Leaf disease that has wiped the American beech from eastern forests. The beech now follows the mortal path of ash trees and the once-dominant American chestnut. There will be a Humanist vigil on Saturday morning at the beech’s stump just south of Boundary Bridge.
• In less despairing news, the American chestnut is finally back. Well kind of. After decades, Arborists finally cracked the cultivation code and created a species that is 100% resistant to fungal blight. Proof of successful self-propagation can be found in Prince William Forest Park among other USDA forests. Arborists are dubbing it the Post-American chestnut (Castanea persistus) Perhaps there’s hope for a Post-American beech one day?
• Last week, a member of the NPS Junior Ranger Division in Fort Dupont Park spotted a deer munching on English ivy. Park Rangers confirmed it. This follows last month’s observations of a grey fox (population going up) munching on garlic mustard. Rangers have been fighting these invasive species for over a century, with federal law changed to back their efforts. Now we have natural help from more-than-human park residents, which begs the question: if native animals are eating them, can we call these plants “native” now?
• Spring Valley is the last neighborhood in Douglass to continue its ban on the use of meadow plants in front yards, thanks to the mulish leadership of Spring Valley Civic Association’s Bartleby Yardsmith, who when asked for comment, always replies “I would prefer not to.” The issue came to a head when a household on the neighborhood border replaced their cut-grass lawn with a mix of native pollinators, rocks, and Papyrus (which is possible thanks to our recent redesignation of Zone 9 hardiness). Within a week, someone set the lawn on fire. This follows last month’s incident of a pollinator lawn being paved over without permission while the residents were on vacation. Residents suggest Yardsmith is to blame in both incidents, but no evidence has surfaced yet. An investigation is pending.

Feel free to contact the officers and directors to share your ideas or news. You may write to individual officers through this email address or on our channel in public messaging.

Only a limited selection of the ODGC books and magazines are brought each meeting. Contact Troy Bonnot if you would like to borrow a book.

One last note, we are putting the call out for small clay pots, please bring any you would like to donate to the next meeting. Thank you!