Long Bridge Park, Part II

Last May, I wrote a post about a construction field trip I took of Long Bridge Park in Arlington, Virginia.  Then in July, a reader submitted a photo of the construction's progress.  Well shame on that reader, for not sending some finished photos of phase I!  (Just kidding -- I know you've been busy!) 

 

Last Sunday, I finally went for a run through the park on what was a somewhat gray, dreary day. Above is a view from the southern entrance of the park.

Along the promenade, large concrete "benches" occur, though they aren't particularly inviting to me.  Concrete stays damp for so long, they aren't very usable in wet weather, plus they are a little...blocky or monolithic looking.  Though no doubt, the budget was friendly!

To the left of the promenade, a large stair leads to the sports fields.

While to the right of the promenade, people are actively enjoying views of the water and Reagan Airport.

Further down the promenade, a look to the left shows the rain garden.  I'm looking forward to seeing the plants in the summer.

While little kids happily look to the right at the passing train.

Another shot of the rain garden.

Finally, above, lighting at the sports fields.

Elaeagnus pungens

Last week, I gave my students a tour of Dumbarton Oaks, so we could catch the last of autumn color and see what was otherwise notable in the gardens. We were passing the shrub below with little interest until we were almost knocked over by the fragrance.

The fragrance was a touch more pungent than a gardenia, and incredibly strong.  I recognized the smell right away as an Elaeagnus.  This particular species is appropriately named Elaeagnus pungens. It's a large spreading evergreen shrub with rough scratchy green leaves and brown stems (the stems are worth noting since - as you can see in the above pic - it does muddy up the overall color of the plant).  The undersides of the leaves are silver with the occasional brown scale.

This time of year the plant is teeming with small tubular white flowers - the source of the fragrance.  The flowers are very easy to miss, were it not for their scent (and on an evolutionary angle, that makes sense - the fragrance is key in drawing in pollinators when the flowers are relatively unremarkable).

In April, cherry like drupes occur on the plant in modest quantities - they are easy to miss, though the birds usually find them.  Native to Japan, this plant is not as invasive as its cousins, E. umellata and E. angustifolia.

Washington Monument Ideas Competition

In case you missed it in the the paper this weekend, the Washington Post published results of the finalists for the Washington Monument Ideas Competition.  You can read about the submissions here and vote on the submissions here.

Na Pali Coast, Kauai

As I mentioned last week, after my work in Lanai wrapped up, I visited Kauai for four days and three nights.  Kauai is the oldest of the Hawaiian islands and thus the greenest.  In fact, it's called the garden island.  A stark change from the dry climate of Lanai and the Big Island,  Kauai typically receives rainfall and is inhabited by lush landscapes.  And by feral chickens.  Seriously, so many chickens. I have yet to see 'The Descendants' - appearing in theaters now - but I will be sorely disappointed if chickens don't have as much screen time as George Clooney.  (Obviously, George Clooney is a better screen presence - the chickens are just a great realistic detail to include.) 

Anyhoo. Speaking of movies, perhaps on a long shot, you saw 'A Perfect Getaway' with Timothy Olyphant, Mila Jovovich and Steve Zahn?  It's one of those action-y, suspense movies you could kinda watch for the third or fifth time on a lazy Saturday morning.  No chickens, but the Na Pali coast is featured pretty faithfully.  Which brings me to today's post.  (Finally.)

Na Pali Coast State Park is a 6000+ acre piece of land on the north shore of Kauai.  One of the most popular hikes is a 4 mile (round trip) hike to Hanakapi'ai beach. As you can see from the above pic, the hike is at times very, very muddy.  I felt badly for those without hiking boots, especially people who were absolutely destroying their bright white running shoes.  (But then again, a hike like this is well worth $100 or $150!).

The beach is only accessible by foot or boat and is devastatingly beautiful.

This hike was so much fun.  It was challenging, between the mud and some rocky areas, you do have to be somewhat mindful of where your foot lands.  Because of the level of difficulty, if you start up early enough in the morning (easy for those of us with jetlag), the trail isn't too crowded.

I think I'll be putting together a top five list about Hawaii before the year is out.  This hike is definitely on that list.

New Pics from the Honolulu Moderne, nee Edition Waikiki

Last year, I was able to work (at Deborah Nevins Associates, with Ian Schrager Company and Yabu Pushelberg) on the Edition: Waikiki hotel in Honolulu.  I spent about four weeks on site doing construction administration, which was an absolutely (stressful) great time.

Last week I got to revisit the site (now operated as an Aqua property.  That's a long story.), and see how the design is faring.  I was delighted to see everything looking good.

The Alexander Palms (Archontophoenix alexandre) look great, as does the beach morning glory near the pool (we originally used plumbago, which didn't handle the chlorine spray well). 

On the lower pool deck, the autograph trees (Clusia rosea) are faring beautifully, despite relatively petite planters.  The maintenance team will need to regularly root prune them now, however.

It was so fun to have a Mai Tai on the pool deck that I first saw as a raw concrete slab with CMU block planters.  The shot below is during tree placement in April 2010.

This is the same view from last week. 

Seriously - what a fun job it is to be a landscape architect!

Triangle Palm

As you may know, I was working in Lanai, Hawaii for the first week of November (tough gig).  The second week, I spent traveling.  Over the past two years, I've been fortunate enough to spend a total of eight weeks in Hawaii; I had visited Lanai, Maui, the Big Island and Oahu.  This trip, I made a point to spend a few days in Kauai.  Kauai is the oldest island and thus the greenest, which made it a refreshing change from the drier climate of Lanai.

While in Kauai, I went horseback riding at Silver Falls Ranch, a great place near Hanalei.  I took a private ride so my guide and I could canter and trot (though I was still a little too cagey to all-out gallop!).  Somewhat spoiled by all my Hawaii travels, I didn't feel the compulsion to stop and take photos during the ride; I wanted to just enjoy the moment, not to mention I must have THOUSANDS of pics of Hawaiian landscapes by now (and am not near finished sharing them with you all, either!).

However, I did have to stop a take a few library shots of this unusual palm: Dypsis decaryi, or triangle palm (not to be confused with triangle man). Dypsis has long fronds with leaves ascending from the main stems.  These fronds emerge from three points, forming a triangle. Native to Madagascar, the plant is popular for its odd shape.

I'm not sure I'd use this in a landscape design, though the bluish tint of the foliage and the shape is kinda fun to look at.  It is just so odd; I feel like seeing it takes you out of the moment, like seeing a mega star take on a cameo role in a movie. Botanical stunt casting, perhaps...

Strelitzia nicolai and the Japanese White Eye

The Saturday before I left town for Hawaii, I met my students at Brookside Gardens.  If you remember, Saturday the 29th was snowy, sleety, rainy and cold.  To wit, we covered some plants in the conservatory.  One of which was the giant bird of paradise, or Strelitzia nicolai.  While looking at it, we wondered what kind of pollinators would frequent it, and its relative, the regular bird of paradise, or Strelitzia reginae.  We suspected perhaps birds, due to the large, perchable flower and in the case of S. reginae, the parrot-colored flower.

While it's not certain that this bird, the Japanese White Eye, is the primary pollinator, its relationship here is pretty clear.  The bird, also known as Zosterops japonicus, is an introduced bird to Hawaii, originally brought to the islands with the good intent of using it to control populations of destructive insects.  As you can guess, this did not work out too well and now the bird is a vector for avian diseases that affect the native bird species. 

Back to the plant -- this may look familiar -- in fact the plant is very similar to traveler's palm, which I blogged about on NYPAOS.  Aloha!

Aloha!

Please excuse the delinquency of this post!  I've been traveling and have been taking TONS of pics.  I just need to organize and post them. 

I'm working in Lanai at the moment, doing some consulting work, helping a community develop strategies to be "greener" (i.e., cutting back on irrigation, using more natives, etc.).

In the meantime, I saw this rainbow, shortly after landing in Honolulu!  Aloha!