Chevy Chase Village Parks and Green Spaces Committee met October 4.
Here is the minutes as provided by the committee:
Attendance: Ellen Sands, Village Municipal Operations Coordinator, Susan Kilborn Co-Chair, Carol Coffin, Jorie Jurgens, Bobbie Neuman, Susan Dixon, Margo Kingston Co-Chair
Village Engineering Consultant, RK& K is looking at improving “flood control” in the Buffer Park. They will not regrade the terrain. They will provide a drawing explaining the best plan for controlling the water runoff along the sloping pathway by improving the current drainage patterns.
Susan Dixon described the Chevy Chase Garden Club’s plan to label the shrubs in Village Parks. They will begin the project by labeling shrubs in the Buffer Zone. Next, they will work on the shrubs in the Betty English Garden which is located on the East side of Connecticut Ave.
This small park is maintained by the Garden Club so it was an appropriate second choice for the shrub labeling project. Labels used will not be attached to the shrub but will be mounted on signs in front of the shrubs. Also, they will use labels made by the firm, National Band so that the style and font will match the labels that were placed on the trees in the Small Triangle Park.
Despite heavy rains in September, the liriope plugs planted by our members of the Parks and Green Spaces Committee in the Buffer near the Tiffany entrance look good. And, there is no sign of further animal damage. We also discussed the possibility of planting Vinca and/or liriope as ground cover in other Buffer spaces where grass does not grow properly.
The Committee liked the idea of improving the seating in the False Cypress Grove space by adding two chairs on either side of the existing bench. These would be from the same manufacturer of the bench, Country Casual Teak, Outdoor Furniture since 1977 so that they would match well. Adirondack chairs earlier considered were deemed difficult to use.
In response to a suggestion by a resident on Belmont Street, the Committee had a lively discussion of the best ferns that could be planted along the Saks wall on Belmont Street. Susan Kilborn obtained a list of ferns that have done well at the neighboring Chevy Chase Club where soil, weather conditions are similar.
1. Lady Fern Athyrium felix-femina, native
2. Christmas Fern Polystichum acrostichoides: one of the toughest ferns and is semi evergreen.
3. Branford Rambler Lady Fern Athyrium filix-femina x niponicum ‘Branford Rambler’. This one spreads to form a nice ground cover.
4. Hay Scented Fern Dennstaedtia punctilobula is a fern better planted in wide swaths. We decided not to recommend this fern now, for the 3 clumps of ferns that will be planted along the Saks Fifth Avenue Wall on Belmont St will be an experiment to see how they thrive.
https://www.chevychasevillagemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_10042018-260