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Steve and Phil’s Garden is for Everyone to Enjoy
Steve Aupperle and I transformed bare and abandoned ground into a beautiful year around urban oasis about seven years ago. We created and continue to maintain a garden in the triangle park just east of Dupont Circle and between P Street NW and Massachusetts Avenue NW. Every day thousands drive by and thousands walk by and can enjoy our garden.
Years ago, the now defunct Dupont Down Under leased the little triangle park along with the old trolley system under Dupont Circle. Probably to make a good impression in court before one of his many court cases, the owner mulched and planted several dozen rhododendrons. Only three remain, the rest stolen within days of planting. Otherwise, the triangle park was untended and offered only weeds and litter. After Dupont Down Under went out of business, legal wrangling over the lease between the bankrupt owner and the ever so slow moving DC government ensued. We had started maintaining the triangle park years before the city finally reclaimed title. Because the triangle park is part of the underground trolley system, we are still not sure what agency has the responsibility for the property. I hope that the DC government will respect what we have created if or when the city writes anther lease for the underground system. Two recent proposals for developing the old trolley space are for an art gallery and space for Gay and Lesbian History Project.
For several years, I tried cleaning, weeding and sprucing up the bare abandoned property. Retired and with limited funds, I had some limited success in improving the park. At that time, Steve Aupperle operated his own landscape company. He offered to help and began to provide me with dug up plants and flowers that he was replacing on job sites. Rather than trashing the old plants and flowers, Steve passed them on to me. I recycled the hand me downs into the garden. While I gained Steve’s help with his time, money, and recyclables, most importantly, I gained his valuable professional gardening expertise. Eventually Steve returned to his original career of teaching. He now works for DC Public Schools and teaches first grade and continues to work on the garden.
The first growing season that we worked together was mostly about cleaning and weeding. In addition to the recycled plants and flowers, we tried growing from seeds but that did not work too well. The second growing season, we started buying plants and flowers, but struggled with needing to water regularly because of a drought. Both years, the garden looked good, but it was nothing exceptional. The third growing season began like the others and the garden looked OK. Then within about one summer week, the garden burst into bloom as never before. The garden transformed from looking good into looking spectacular. We had created a garden miracle that continues each year with each season offering its own special beauty. One goal that Steve has had is for the garden to be attractive throughout the growing season and we have accomplished that.
However, urban gardening has its downsides. Every winter, we do not do a clean up with the help of several friends until late February in the hopes of keeping people from walking on and trampling the dormant plants. Every year we complain about drunks who damage plants by hiding their alcohol and belongings among them and use the park as a bathroom. We caught one drunk who liked to sleep on the flowers. We griped endlessly about the one drunk who pulls sunflowers out of the ground because he, “Don’t like the gays.” Then there are the people who walk through the garden and trample our growing and grown plants. Neighbors who “borrow” for themselves alone the flowers we grow for everyone to enjoy. We did catch one neighbor who had pulled up plants, “for my sister to grow.” A friend told us about seeing a well dressed middle aged woman with a vase walk into the garden and pick tiger lilies until she filled her vase.” That one was a low blow for us.
One time when I was out of town, Steve had too much caffeine for breakfast and went shopping. At one Home Depot, Steve found bulbs priced at 50% off. He bought some and then went to another Home Depot and found bulbs priced at 75% off. Eventually he bought enough bulbs to fill a car trunk. Those bulbs look great now, but planting all of them gave us both backaches.
The joys of urban gardening do far surpass the negatives. For us, the February cleanup and mulching is the beginning of another season. Steve and I love watching the evolving growth from the earliest sprouts in March, through the magnificent flowering blooms flowers of summer, to the flowers and plants that thrive into late fall. We love to plant, weed, and water and tend the garden. We also value that many people appreciate and enjoy our efforts. People stop and say thanks. Especially during the peak blooming season, some people stop and stare at the garden in awe, enchanted with the beauty. Once a friend surprised me with, “Oh I think about you every day when I walk by and enjoy the beauty of your garden.”
Several summers ago, the drunk who hated sunflowers uprooted almost all of them, pulling up a few at a time. The drunk not only pulls up sunflowers in our garden, but also pulls up sunflowers throughout the neighborhood. We have planted sunflowers in another little triangle park bordered by Eighteenth, New Hampshire and Corcoran Streets NW as well as numerous neighborhood tree boxes.
One day, Steve and I were complaining about the never-ending loss of sunflowers when a friend walked up and profusely thanked us for our efforts and for the beauty of our flowers. It dawned on us then that no one else noticed the losses. No one else noticed the myriad of other problems. Only Steve and I see and notice what is missing, stolen or destroyed. Everyone else only sees the beauty of what is growing in our garden.
After this summer’s damaging rampage, several neighbors offered to help with new plantings. One neighbor generously offered to pay for a fence to protect our garden. Both Steve and I greatly appreciated such generosity. A fence would unfortunately be a barrier to the garden and we hope we can continue the garden as open welcoming space.
One website reviewed various small garden spaces around DC and called our garden, “lush, but did not invite one to linger.” So we added a garden bench. It is a great joy to see someone sitting and enjoying the garden or reading.
Despite the occasional small damage and sometimes major damage, Steve and I try to focus on what is good and fun about gardening. Maybe we can learn from our neighbors and simply enjoy the beauty of what survives in our garden along with everyone else. Maybe neighbors will both enjoy and help us to protect our little neighborhood treasure.
Steve Aupperle and I transformed bare and abandoned ground into a beautiful year around urban oasis about seven years ago. We created and continue to maintain a garden in the triangle park just east of Dupont Circle and between P Street NW and Massachusetts Avenue NW. Every day thousands drive by and thousands walk by and can enjoy our garden.
Years ago, the now defunct Dupont Down Under leased the little triangle park along with the old trolley system under Dupont Circle. Probably to make a good impression in court before one of his many court cases, the owner mulched and planted several dozen rhododendrons. Only three remain, the rest stolen within days of planting. Otherwise, the triangle park was untended and offered only weeds and litter. After Dupont Down Under went out of business, legal wrangling over the lease between the bankrupt owner and the ever so slow moving DC government ensued. We had started maintaining the triangle park years before the city finally reclaimed title. Because the triangle park is part of the underground trolley system, we are still not sure what agency has the responsibility for the property. I hope that the DC government will respect what we have created if or when the city writes anther lease for the underground system. Two recent proposals for developing the old trolley space are for an art gallery and space for Gay and Lesbian History Project.
For several years, I tried cleaning, weeding and sprucing up the bare abandoned property. Retired and with limited funds, I had some limited success in improving the park. At that time, Steve Aupperle operated his own landscape company. He offered to help and began to provide me with dug up plants and flowers that he was replacing on job sites. Rather than trashing the old plants and flowers, Steve passed them on to me. I recycled the hand me downs into the garden. While I gained Steve’s help with his time, money, and recyclables, most importantly, I gained his valuable professional gardening expertise. Eventually Steve returned to his original career of teaching. He now works for DC Public Schools and teaches first grade and continues to work on the garden.
The first growing season that we worked together was mostly about cleaning and weeding. In addition to the recycled plants and flowers, we tried growing from seeds but that did not work too well. The second growing season, we started buying plants and flowers, but struggled with needing to water regularly because of a drought. Both years, the garden looked good, but it was nothing exceptional. The third growing season began like the others and the garden looked OK. Then within about one summer week, the garden burst into bloom as never before. The garden transformed from looking good into looking spectacular. We had created a garden miracle that continues each year with each season offering its own special beauty. One goal that Steve has had is for the garden to be attractive throughout the growing season and we have accomplished that.
However, urban gardening has its downsides. Every winter, we do not do a clean up with the help of several friends until late February in the hopes of keeping people from walking on and trampling the dormant plants. Every year we complain about drunks who damage plants by hiding their alcohol and belongings among them and use the park as a bathroom. We caught one drunk who liked to sleep on the flowers. We griped endlessly about the one drunk who pulls sunflowers out of the ground because he, “Don’t like the gays.” Then there are the people who walk through the garden and trample our growing and grown plants. Neighbors who “borrow” for themselves alone the flowers we grow for everyone to enjoy. We did catch one neighbor who had pulled up plants, “for my sister to grow.” A friend told us about seeing a well dressed middle aged woman with a vase walk into the garden and pick tiger lilies until she filled her vase.” That one was a low blow for us.
One time when I was out of town, Steve had too much caffeine for breakfast and went shopping. At one Home Depot, Steve found bulbs priced at 50% off. He bought some and then went to another Home Depot and found bulbs priced at 75% off. Eventually he bought enough bulbs to fill a car trunk. Those bulbs look great now, but planting all of them gave us both backaches.
The joys of urban gardening do far surpass the negatives. For us, the February cleanup and mulching is the beginning of another season. Steve and I love watching the evolving growth from the earliest sprouts in March, through the magnificent flowering blooms flowers of summer, to the flowers and plants that thrive into late fall. We love to plant, weed, and water and tend the garden. We also value that many people appreciate and enjoy our efforts. People stop and say thanks. Especially during the peak blooming season, some people stop and stare at the garden in awe, enchanted with the beauty. Once a friend surprised me with, “Oh I think about you every day when I walk by and enjoy the beauty of your garden.”
Several summers ago, the drunk who hated sunflowers uprooted almost all of them, pulling up a few at a time. The drunk not only pulls up sunflowers in our garden, but also pulls up sunflowers throughout the neighborhood. We have planted sunflowers in another little triangle park bordered by Eighteenth, New Hampshire and Corcoran Streets NW as well as numerous neighborhood tree boxes.
One day, Steve and I were complaining about the never-ending loss of sunflowers when a friend walked up and profusely thanked us for our efforts and for the beauty of our flowers. It dawned on us then that no one else noticed the losses. No one else noticed the myriad of other problems. Only Steve and I see and notice what is missing, stolen or destroyed. Everyone else only sees the beauty of what is growing in our garden.
After this summer’s damaging rampage, several neighbors offered to help with new plantings. One neighbor generously offered to pay for a fence to protect our garden. Both Steve and I greatly appreciated such generosity. A fence would unfortunately be a barrier to the garden and we hope we can continue the garden as open welcoming space.
One website reviewed various small garden spaces around DC and called our garden, “lush, but did not invite one to linger.” So we added a garden bench. It is a great joy to see someone sitting and enjoying the garden or reading.
Despite the occasional small damage and sometimes major damage, Steve and I try to focus on what is good and fun about gardening. Maybe we can learn from our neighbors and simply enjoy the beauty of what survives in our garden along with everyone else. Maybe neighbors will both enjoy and help us to protect our little neighborhood treasure.
