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 "Dogwoods for Dogwood Road" is the
name of a grant that was awarded to the Association by the Baltimore County Office of
Community Conservation. The goal of the project is to install Dogwood trees and other
native plants along the stream side of Dogwood Road from Kernan Drive south to the
city line at Franklintown. The amount awarded to the Association for this project is $3,529.
Including voluntary community labor covering design, installation, and maintenance, the
value of the grant is over $4,400.
The grant was awarded last spring, and work
commenced on Phase I of the project in May.
This first phase focused on the corner lots at Dogwood Road and Kernan Drive. Over a
period of two weekends community volunteers installed Dogwood and Redbud trees, a Red
Maple, a Beech tree, Winterberry (a type of Holly), Chokeberry, Serviceberry, Viburnum,
Wax Myrtle, Broom sedge, Goldenrod and Black-Eyed Susan. In a flurry of swinging
picks and shovels 50 plants were installed and a small berm was created along Dogwood
Road to prevent careless drivers from running over the new planting. It was a test of our
cooperative spirit that enabled us to accomplish this amount of work in such a short
period of time. We passed!
Getting the plants in the ground is only the
first step, however. Then comes the TLC to get the plants off to a good start. Mother
Nature was on our side, so the plants have needed little supplemental watering, although I
made numerous trips with a bucket down to the stream and hauled water up to the plants in
those first few weeks after planting. But water is only 1 part of getting small plants off to a
healthy start in an urban environment. The biggest challenges we face are the human
kind. Shortly after planting, an incredibly inconsiderate driver actually drove over the 1-foot high berm we created and crushed 2
small Wax Myrtles. Ruffie London came to the rescue and placed logs on top of the berm to
discourage any further incursions. Then there was the county maintenance crew. Give a
man a weed-whacker and look out! The Black-Eyed Susan and Goldenrod were mowed down
twice before a call to the County Executive’s Office put an end to this depredation. I think
we truly have the problem solved this time. The county maintenance crew is now on board
as a partner with us on the project.
So
Phase I is complete. We
have lost a few plants but that is to be expected and they
will be replaced. Next comes Phase II. Planning
is now underway to continue the planting south along Dogwood
Road. During
September and October expect to see neighborhood volunteers
once again swinging those picks and shovels and standing back
admiring a newly planted shrub or tree.
Volunteers
for Phase I included Pam Cheeseboro, Steve Fleagle, Mary
Fleagle, Jarrett Fleagle, Will Fleagle, Sue Jackson-Stein, Sue
Lattimore, Kerry Lattimore, Ruffie London, Dave Schaefferman
and David Taylor. Baltimore
County personnel have also been of great help, especially
County Executive, Jim Smith, who came out and helped us plant
the Beech tree, David Carroll and Karen Ogle of the Dept. of
Environmental Protection and Resource Management, Mary Harvey
and Chris Pitcher of the Office of Community Conservation,
Harold Reid of the County Executive’s Office, and John Ross
of the Dept. of Recreation & Parks.
Many thanks to all of you.
Your contributions will outlive us all!
Text
reprinted
from the September 2003 Franklintown Community Newsletter.
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