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City Seeks Residents With Green Thumbs
"Putting in the trees gives us something positive to talk about," one resident said of the District's planting program.
(By Jahi Chikwendiu -- The Washington Post)
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"That's the city's job," said Best, who was watering the bright tulips and pansies in his yard at the end of a hot day. "They planted them. They never asked the neighbors to water them."
The Fairmont Street trees weren't the only ones that didn't live a year.
Magnolias, redbuds and dogwoods also were planted along a 1.5-mile stretch of North Capitol Street last spring. The urban forestry program hoped to make the street more aesthetically pleasing, while creating a traffic-calming effect, said Erik Linden, a spokesman for the transportation department.
The goal was to set up a greenway along North Capitol Street, with 265 trees, but the exhaust and the wind from the passing vehicles was too much for the young trees, Linden said. Only about a dozen remain this year, and the others have been removed.
Because the contractor guarantees replacement if a tree doesn't live for a year, plans are to replace those trees with more durable foliage, such as ornamental grasses or heat-tolerant perennials, Linden said.
Michael Stockton, a board member of the Palisade Citizens Association, said he's determined not to let the 48 trees recently planted along Sherier Place NW die.
"That's not going to happen here," said Stockton, who is asking his neighbors to adopt a tree or two and "water it, weed it and mulch it to make sure it grows."
"They've made an impact on our neighborhood," said Stockton, who requested the trees about 18 months ago. "When you live on a block with no city trees and they come in and plant them, it makes a tremendous difference. It's fun to see."
