The Buckingham Herald Tribblog

Having just learned about the proposal for a mini-golf course near my home in Ballston beside the Ballston Common Mall, I would like to make an alternative suggestion for use of the space.

Knowing that such a visible and valuable plot of land probably has many options for development in the future, my proposal can make use of the space immediately, with future development an inexpensive enterprise.

Instead of minuture golf, use the land for agriculture.

My proposal for the lot includes community vegetable garden plots in raised beds surrounded by pine bark mulch.

Community garden plots on public land have been gaining a great deal of attention in urban environments around the United States. The safety of our food supply chains has made headline news recently; our desire to eat local, sustainable and healthy food has become a movement gaining force throughout the country.

Each vegetable bed can be sponsored by a church, community group (Girl Scouts, as an example), or schools. Demonstration beds and classes can teach Arlington residents how to grow their own food in their own yard.

Surrounding the vegetable garden could be rose gardens and wildflower beds, similar in beauty to the Rose Garden in Bon Air Park. The view from outside the garden would be of beautiful flowers, maintained by the award-winning Arlington Master Gardeners program.

The flowers would attract pollinators, such as bees and butterflies to the vegetable beds.

Community gardening attracts young, old, wealthy and people of modest means; which describes the diversity of citizens in that community very well. While working in community gardens, diverse groups of people talk, share and learn from one another.

The entire garden can be surrounded by the black, wrought-iron fencing that surrounds Westover Playground; high enough for children to be safe, but not so high to appear "gated".

With reduced amounts of fresh produce being donated to AFAC from Giant grocery stores, a portion of the produce could be grown especially for them.

As the garden beds would be raised, there would be little concern of contamination from existing soil.

In a few years, when public will or private money is raised for mini-golf, the site can be developed without a large initial investment in the gardening project.

Best regards,
Dan Redmond
Bluemont
Advocate for Regional Food systems and Renewable Energy

Dan's letter, which he emailed to me for posting and to a few others in Arlington, has generated a little buzz. What follows are portions of the responses. Click "comments," below, to add your own two cents. --ST

Hi, Dan.

I really like your proposal. The garden you are envisioning will
be a great community resource and contribute to Arlington's green movement.

Rosa Briceno

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I strongly support your proposal for a sustainable, teachable, useful, community garden in Ballston with multiple sponsorship and opportunities for the community and individuals to come together to “grow a row” together.

We find at Tuckahoe the more you improve your grounds, woods and gardens the better is your neighborhood kept clean and the greater is your sense pride in your place, the more it feels like a neighborhood to call home.

Sincerely,

Mary McLean
Outdoor Learning Coordinator
Tuckahoe Elementary School
Arlington Public Schools

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Labels: ballston, garden, mini-golf

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:18 AM 2 comments

I read the letter about planting milkweeds for butterflies.

My experience with milkweeds goes back to when I was a teenager, and thought it would be a great idea to drop a few seeds in a two acre field by our house.

Sure enough they spread like wild fire, and I got a job pulling them out (not entirely voluntary).

Sincerely,

Louis Quay

Labels: garden, letter

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 10:08 AM 1 comments

Just a tip re: attracting butterflies:

We attended a "Butterfly Fiesta" at an environmental center in Maryland a couple of years ago (www.thorpewood.org), and we learned among other things that one should plant MILKWEED to feed butterflies. So if that's what you're going for, do it. We started a Butterfly garden last year and it was a great success, and the more plants and longer you have them, the more they learn it's the cool place to hang out. "Build It and They Will Come."

Good Luck with the Garden.

John Marston

Labels: environment, garden, letter

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:07 AM 0 comments

Regarding your interest in planting wildflower seeds on the Paradigm property:

The Arlington County Government or the Virginia Cooperative Extension Office can probably provide you with free wildflower seeds for the Paradigm property. One of these organizations distributes free packets of seeds at county fairs and other county events.

I am not sure who you should contact about this. I suggest that you start with Jamie Bartalon, a county government urban forester. Martin Ogle, a naturalist at Potomac Overlook Regional Park, may also know the source for the free seeds.

If you can find the source of the free seeds, ask the source to recommend wildflower species that attract butterflies and/or that provide food for other insects. Some wildflower species are better than others for such purposes.

If someone owns or can borrow gardening tools, there should be little or no cost for the seeding project.

I don't have the time available to plant the seeds. Perhaps somebody else does.

Bernie Berne

I'll look into it. Thanks. The writer, for those of you who don't know, is referring to my "HeraldTrib Today" post from Wednesday, Feb. 20. –ST

Labels: environment, garden, letter

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:00 AM 0 comments