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For official club information and news go to the website and Facebook page.

This blogspot is maintained for the the historic record from 2010 to 2014.

Who We Are

The Capitol Hill Garden Club brings together Washington area people interested in gardening, landscaping and the environment. Members enjoy lectures, demonstrations, workshops and tours.

We are a 501(c)(3) District of Columbia non-profit corporation. We undertake community projects and contribute to garden and beautification projects in our neighborhood. In past years the club donated thousands of spring flowering bulbs to groups and individuals for planting in public areas on Capitol Hill. Our income comes from membership dues and donations.

We are a member of National Garden Clubs, Inc., National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc. and its District I, and the Central Atlantic Region of State Garden Clubs, Inc.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Members Gardens

In a lively session club members Jeffery Johnson, Barry Brauth, and Denny Lane described the development of their gardens, illustrating their experiences with images of their spaces at different stages of development. 

JeffereyJohnson
Although each garden was unique, their stories shared common themes and advice. Jeffery and Barry both realized that it would be a worthwhile investment to hire a landscape professional to develop the bones of their garden spaces. They advised anyone hiring a garden designer to interview several candidates before hiring and choose someone with experience in designing small gardens. Both successfully worked with Derek Thomas, a landscaper with lots of Capitol Hill experience.

Barry Brauth
All three speakers encouraged us to think deeply about what we want from our gardening space and be prepared to describe our wishes to the design professional in detail while remaining open to suggestion. If we have a limited budget, our presenters advised us to ask the landscaper to segment the work. The first step is to get a well thought out and practical written plan, one that encourages us to use our garden space. Second is to develop the hardscape.

Denny Lane
Since gratification is important to perseverance, our presenters cautioned us to save some of the early budget for plants. Patience may be a virtue in general, but it is essential in developing a garden. Plantings that appear sparse and puny in their first few years, fill-out and fill-in over time, giving us the look that we had hoped for as we browsed gardening magazines at the beginning of our gardening projects. All the presenters felt it was important to make their gardens personal—whether it was bringing in architectural "finds" from overseas travel, adding a favorite plant, making a play space for a child, or encouraging a sense of neighborhood pride in the development of the garden over time. 
 --Carol Edwards, photos by Bill Dean.