On June 15th, Kellie Cox of Strawberry Fields, LLC presented her Landscape Design Master Plan for the “Community Tree Triangle” located at the intersection of Glen Ross and Luzerne. The virtual walk-through of the design was followed by a Q&A session.
Missed the presentation? No worries! You can watch a recording of the presentation* or scroll through the presentation slides below. After viewing, you are invited to send any questions or comments about the project to the Community Design Committee’s Chair, Cheryl Copeland, or the NWCA Board.
Please note that the committee would really love to connect with a neighbor with grant-writing experience for the next phase of the project. If that’s you or you can suggest someone, please contact Cheryl at the link above.
If you’ve ever strolled along Grace Church Rd. in the spring, you’ve probably seen colorful swaths of tulips blooming at the edges of the expansive lawn at 1923. Meet the man behind the tulips: Phil Costello has been planting them here every year since 2011. His interest in tulips took root when he lived in London: From his office near Buckingham Palace, he observed the planting of thousands of tulips. He also traveled frequently to Holland, where the flowers have been prized since the 16th century.
Phil starts planting his tulips in late November or after the first frost. He designs and digs trenches and places each bulb individually, this year about 750. (His all-time high is 2,100 bulbs!) Then he covers them with four to six inches of soil. Recently he has hired neighbors David Maya-Shelton and Jayden and Austin Jackson to help in the labor-intensive activity.
A major challenge is foiling predators, responsible for ruining up to 25 percent of the tulip garden. Squirrels dig up bulbs, but don’t seem to eat them. “They taunt me,” Phil laughs, “and then they throw away the bulbs,” leaving them on neighbors’ porches and in their yards. He places chicken wire over the bulbs to deter the pesky rodents and removes it so the tulips can grow when the weather warms. Deer don’t dig up the bulbs, but they do eat the blooms. “It’s constant effort,” says Phil, “vigilance is required.” He jokes that the deer of Grace Church may have changed their eating patterns after he placed signs directing them to a nearby street for better food.
Phil recommends purchasing tulip bulbs from colorblends.com. He also welcomes visitors to his garden. This writer has the advantage of seeing the vibrant flower display from her kitchen window, but you can take in the view come springtime. We’ll look for you on our street.
As noted recently by a neighbor on the NWCA listserv…
The fabulous, giant, weeping cherry on 2nd Ave.* is in full bloom…. do take time to wander under it…
Want to behold cherry blossoms, but not up for the crowds and traffic around Washington, DC’s tidal basin? Take a stroll under this magnificent tree!
* Between Grace Church Rd. and 16th St.
No doubt a small sapling many a decade ago, the canopy of this weeping cherry now reaches high into the sky, spilling a swaying “bloomfall” of light pink blossoms over 2nd Ave. What young trees planted in North Woodside now will one day grow to great heights and beauty, and grace the path of future generations of neighbors?
If interested in planting a tree in the right of way in front of your house or on your property, contact the NWCA Tree Committee.
NWCA Board has approved a proposal from Kellie Cox of Strawberry Fields, LLC to provide a master plan landscape design for the county right-of-way space at the intersection of Luzerne Ave. and Glen Ross Rd. where the community tree sits. Neighbors, please use this form to provide your input to the Community Design Committee and landscape designer for the project.
NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING – Friday, March 17, 2023 at noon
In addition to using this form, all North Woodside neighbors are invited to a virtual meeting with Kellie Cox to learn more about the project and ask questions. Please email Cheryl for the Zoom link.
The young members of the North Woodside Roots & Shoots group so much loved creating the neighborhood Thankful Tree in the fall that they wanted to do a similar participatory community art project every season.
It remains to be seen if the group can reach that ambitious goal, but they are now halfway there with the unveiling of the Neighborhood Valentine Tree (aka Community Tree).
Roots & Shoots members invite all neighbors to visit the Community Tree Triangle*, reflect on what they love about the neighborhood, and add a heart to the tree.
Extra hearts and markers for writing are in a plastic box under the tree. If the extra hearts run out, feel free to write on the backside of hearts already hanging on the tree.
The Neighborhood Valentine Tree will be on display through the end of February.
More Fun: Go on a Neighborhood Heart Scavenger Hunt! In addition to the hearts decorating the Neighborhood Valentine Tree, 30+ hearts have been placed throughout the neighborhood. There is at least one along every street in the neighborhood, including along most, but not all, blocks. How many can you spot?
The NWCA Community Design Committee formed in early 2021. Our original discussions focused on the location of a memorial bench, but our goal was and remains to take a broader look at the use of neighborhood green spaces. We are interested in placemaking within the shared publicly owned pieces of land that are part of the fabric of North Woodside.
There are areas within our neighborhood that are imbued with memory as places for community interactions. One of these is the triangle at the intersection of Luzerne Ave. and Glen Ross Rd. where the community tree sits. It has served for decades as the place where neighbors come together to celebrate winter holidays. In the summer of 2020 it was where our youth called neighbors to action. And popular food trucks popped up alongside it in 2021. Alas, those moments, when the community injects the space with energy, are brief and few. The minimally maintained triangle is forgettable at best, and not many neighbors are drawn there during other times of the year. This place could be so much more than it is! At the urging of an adjacent neighbor, the Community Design Committee has begun to address this opportunity.
The land that we are referring to as the Community Tree Triangle is owned by Montgomery County and maintained by the Department of Transportation (MCDOT). Community Design Committee members have already been in communication with our assigned project contact (our county arborist) and a MCDOT traffic engineer. These officials appear very willing to approve NWCA’s efforts to improve the site. We’ve learned that permits will not be required, but county review of a design and coordination of its implementation are. We will maintain regular communications with the various county entities to ensure that improvements can move forward.
With the approval of the NWCA Board, members of the Community Design Committee solicited proposals for a master plan from three local women-owned landscape design firms. We met with each firm at the triangle and shared the following guidelines for the design:
Replace the grass with plantings of native species sourced from environmentally conscious growers and suppliers to attract pollinators and provide food and cover for birds. Consider the educational opportunity these types of plantings could offer the community.
Maintain and possibly enhance the use of the area for the annual neighborhood holiday tree and menorah lighting events.
Consider features like stepstone pathways to invite the community to engage in the space.
Consider sight lines for traffic safety throughout the year.
Long-term maintenance should be minimal.
The NWCA Board voted to approve the proposal from Strawberry Fields
After careful review and input from the committee, the NWCA Board voted to approve the proposal from Strawberry Fields Design, LLC, to provide master plan landscape design services. Strawberry Fields was selected for its experience working with Montgomery County and on community projects of similar scope and scale and previous work in our neighborhood. Owner Kellie Cox is communicative, engaging, and knowledgeable. The board agreed to move forward with this investment in the design for a piece of land within our neighborhood because of the potential impacts on the community as a whole: visual, environmental, safety, and use.
Neighbors will be invited to engage in the design at key points in the process:
Prior to the landscape design work beginning, neighbors will be able to provide input via an online form and participate in a neighborhood meeting to chat with the designer, ask questions, and offer their ideas.
Once Strawberry Fields has developed a preliminary design plan, the Community Design Committee would share it with neighbors for further input at a meeting and/or via the neighborhood listserv and website.
It would also be shared with our county contacts for their review and input.
Strawberry Fields would take all the above input into consideration before finalizing a master plan.
The timeline for all of this will be sent out via the listserv in the coming months. We look forward to hearing what our neighbors would like to see happen with our shared space in the heart of our community!
The landscape master plan is a first step in making the Community Tree Triangle a more special place for our North Woodside community. Implementing that plan will require funding to turn drawings into plants and stepstones and flowers. At almost 2,200 square feet, this is a large area. The cost to achieve our goal is not yet known, but we can anticipate that it could be substantial. Rest assured that the Community Design Committee is already exploring ways to meet the challenge, such as grant opportunities, work parties, fundraising initiatives, and phasing the work to implement as funds become available.
Donations are always appreciated as an investment in our shared community design efforts. Interested neighbors may go to visit the NWCA donation page and follow instructions for contribution to the Neighborhood Beautification and Memorial Fund.
If discussions about the potential improvements to our neighborhood green spaces interest you, please join our Community Design Committee email list.
On December 18, 2022, neighbors gathered at the Community Tree Triangle for the 74th Annual Tree Lighting and 5th Annual Menorah Lighting and enjoyed hot cider and latkes. Photo by Phyllida Paterson
To all who celebrate the various holidays of the season…Happy Hanukkah!…Happy Solstice!…Merry Christmas!…Happy Kwanzaa!…Happy New Year!
Here are a few photos of last weekend’s community Menorah Lighting, which was followed by the community Tree Lighting and a visit from Santa. Photos by Genevieve McDowell Owen, Phyllida Paterson, and Rebecca Doran
Many thanks to all the neighbors who contributed their time, talents and resources to the event. It takes a village!
And for those who missed, a new song sung at the event:
Woodside Wassail (words by David Kitzmiller)
Wassail, wassail, all over the town! Our punch, it is red, and our cookies, they are brown. The goodies are spread by the old Christmas tree, From the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee!
Here’s to North Woodside Civic so good, Which strives to keep order in this neighborhood. From 16th to Linden, all’s well we will say; So we’re gathered together to brighten this day!
Wassail, wassail all over Woodside! Remember your neighbors in this wintertide. At Luzerne and Glen Ross, we’ll now light our tree, From the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee!
Light and love to all. And stay warm–the northern winds sure are a blowin’ out there!
Sunday, December 18th at 4:45pm Glen Ross Rd. & Luzerne Ave.
Join us to learn about Hanukkah, sing, eat latkes, and light the menorah. Then, more singing, lighting the tree, a visit from Santa Claus, and hot cider.
The North Woodside Roots & Shoots group invites neighbors to take part in a participatory community art project.
The “Thankful Tree” the group constructed last weekend can be found in the green space at 3rd Ave. and Lanier Dr.
The kids worked hard cutting out and painting lots of leaves for the tree and enjoyed writing things they are thankful for on many of them…family…friends…vecinos…good tasting food…love…and more!
The kids would be thrilled if neighbors added more leaves to the Thankful Tree: What are you thankful for? Write on a painted leaf and attach to the tree!
Extra leaves can be found, along with a few permanent markers, in a box underneath the bench. Please tie tightly to branches so they don’t blow off.
Begun in 2018, the Talbot Avenue Bridge Lantern Walk is an annual local community event that weaves together neighborhoods once divided by racial segregation. All are welcome! Come join us in shining our lights in the darkness, promoting unity over division, remembering the past and taking steps toward a brighter future…
WHEN: Saturday, November 12, 2022* Gather by 5:15pm,Lantern Walk will commence soon after
WHERE: 4th Avenue and Hanover Street (North Woodside) to Talbot Avenue (Lyttonsville), via Brookville Road View Route
See below for three different ways to participate
BRING: Warm clothing, a lantern, and a bell to ring, if you have one
Note: Any type of lantern will do, from a tea light candle in a glass jar to something more elaborate, either handmade or store-bought. You can find many ideas online: bit.ly/HomemadeLanterns. If you have the time and energy, we encourage you to get creative! Extra lanterns and tea light candles will be available for anyone who needs them.
* Rain date: Sunday, November 13, 2022 (any event updates will be posted to bit.ly/TABLanternWalk)
Ways to Participate
Residents of Lyttonsville, North Woodside, and Rosemary Hills are invited to participate in one of three ways:
1) Join for the whole lantern walk. As the route is not a loop, residents of North Woodside will need to walk back or have someone pick you up in Lyttonsville.
2) Join for a portion of the lantern walk. For example, residents of North Woodside can join for the portion that goes through the neighborhood (e.g. 4th Ave -> Warren St/A Wider Circle).
3) Watch the lantern walk pass by. Neighbors who live along the route can come out of their homes to watch, wave, and hold a candle or lantern of their own in solidarity. Neighbors who live elsewhere can come stand along the lantern walk route and do the same.
Safety Precautions
Any young children who participate should be closely supervised by adults. And organizers encourage participants to RSVP ahead of time at bit.ly/TABLanternWalk, so they have a good sense of expected numbers and can adjust safety precautions accordingly.
Check out videos of past Talbot Avenue Bridge Lantern Walks:
1st Talbot Avenue Bridge Lantern Walk (2018). Video by David Rotenstein
4th Talbot Avenue Bridge Lantern Walk (2021). Video by Jay Mallin
Welcome to North Woodside 