In Shaw (an historically gentrified blog)

Flower Power Garden 2005 Tour

It was hot. Hahwwt. And humid. And yet we had several brave souls who came out anyway.
Before we ventured out for touring Councilman Vincent Orange and his entourage showed up. Orange was wearing Mardi Gras beads around his neck and I'm thinking, why? One of his people worked the tiny group milling about in the alley between Bates and P, asking if they were registered to vote in DC and if they were Democrats. They came, they saw, they chatted, they left.
The properties on the tour ranged from mediocre to 'wow'. One 'wow' yard was 408 Richardson Place, NW. You can see it over the waist high fence. I've been told the owner likes to show it off so if you see him ask about what he's done. Another wow, also on that block was the back of 1722 4th St. Small patio, two fountains! They had a before picture up and the after was a dramatic improvement. Filed under 'wow', but not because of it's beauty, take a look at the corner yard of the house owned by the Korean church at 319 R St. They had tomatoes, brussel sprouts, melons, lettuces, and much more growing in a tiny space. You could feed a family on what they had growing in that yard.
Scott and Matt's yard, the one you had to get through the house to get through for those of you who toured, had garden ideas to steal. I liked the mirrors they have up on the fence reflecting light. Matt explained to our group that things had to be up high, because of the dogs. I loved the look of Corsican mint in the walkway of 408 Richardson.
At the end of the tour we settled in at where we started, the rear of 75 P St., which looked like the patio section of a restaurant. The pineapple salsa was very good, so was more cold water.
Another mayoral candidate also showed up at our humble and hot tour, Marie Johns. I don't think she came armed with an entourage like Orange. Just her, dressed casually, and one of those funky hands free phone thingies. No beads. MaryAnne introduced Ms. Johns to individuals languishing in the heat and the shade. No grand speeches, just asking for support. We'll see.

posted by Mari @ 15.8.05