On September 9, 2015, the first general meeting of the revived
Hungerford Civic Association was held at Elwood Smith Community Center. At the
meeting, Frank Cole volunteered to spearhead a project to beautify the area
along Cabin John Creek. His idea was to clear the invasive vines and weeds
along the Cabin John stream between the bridge entrance to Dogwood Park and the
south end of Cabin John Parkway near the retention pond, then plant Crape
Myrtles — deer-resistant, non-invasive and drought-resistant trees that have a
long bloom time — along the cleared area.
On the Hungerford listserv, Frank put out a call for interest
and got a positive response from many residents who were willing to plant trees
and donate funds to pay for them. The first meeting was held at Dogwood on
September 24 to discuss the plan of action. A budget was set, and volunteers
met at Dogwood on October 14 to clear vines and weeds.
In the meantime, Frank contacted the City of Rockville for
permission to do the work and to ask the city to support the project. He got a
warm response, especially from Park Services Manager Jason Bible, who scheduled
a crew to remove big dead trees which could not be handled by volunteers.
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| Enthusiastic volunteers met at the park on October 14 to clear vines and weeds. |
With the stream and park showing visible improvement, it was
time for planting the trees that were purchased through generous donations from
Hungerford residents. On October 17, 13 Crape Myrtle Sioux were planted along
the edge of the Cabin John stream. At the south end near the Stone Ridge sign, three
Crape Myrtle Tontos and one Crape Myrtle Pink Velour were planted. They should all
bloom with pink blossoms from mid- to late-summer.
Wire fencing was secured around the Crape Myrtles to protect
the trees. A second phase of vine clearing was then done by volunteers to free
the native trees along the stream, to clear the sight lines into Dogwood Park,
and to try to keep the vines from jumping over the stream. Some participants
have volunteered to periodically water the trees on an ongoing basis.
Over the winter, Frank plans to meet with volunteers to
discuss future projects, including ways to beautify the Dogwood Park bridge
entry area.
Through the neighborhood's generous response, $865 was
raised for this project, of which $660 was used. The remainder has been
deposited in the Hungerford Civic Association checking account to maintain the
work done on this project and/or for future landscape plans.
Over the next few years, we expect to see a living, growing
ribbon of pink blooms along Cabin John stream. We hope that these beautiful
trees, and the Hungerford Civic Association, will grow and thrive for many
years. We thank Frank Cole for his vision and his willingness to lead the Crape
Myrtle Project, and we thank all those who donated their time, energy and/or money!
Sheila Amir
Joe Beatty
Monica Berger
Jason Bible, Rockville Parks Services Manager
Ladda and Frank Cole
Michelle Diep
Noelle and Allison Dietrich
Bill and CJ Dillinger
Jewel Golden
Elizabeth Head
Cindy Hoffman
Bob and Margie Hughes
Danielle Jaekel
Joe Jeffs
Joe Kanney
Paula and Andrew Kass
Diane Kittower and Denny Buck
John Kochowicz
Rena Kostaris
Helene Legendre
Baifan Li (Annie)
Sarah Navid
Leslie Russell and Carthel Cummings
Diane and Ara Sahakian
Keith Sanderson
Chuck Short
Eugene Thirolf
Albert [last name unknown]
If you volunteered but
your name was inadvertently omitted from this list, please contact Aaron Fein
at hca_president@thefeins.com to have it added.
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| The City of Rockville sent a crew to remove dead trees that were too big for the volunteers to handle. |
Planting day, October 17.
Wire fencing was anchored around the trees to protect them
from deer and other pests.
Photos by Frank Cole
