When I first moved to Washington, DC from New York, I was struck by the abundance of trees in the city. And lining the street of my new home in the Valley Vista Apartments (now the Valley Vista Condominium), where about twenty beautiful Ginkgo trees.
What's noteworthy are the beautiful leaves. They are fan shaped, and come out a bright green in the spring and turn into a rich, darker shade as summer progresses. In the fall, they turn bright yellow, and they covered the streets and sidewalks as I walked down the hill from Connecticut Avenue to the front door of the building.
As we move from fall to winter, the Ginkgo trees are among the last to lose their leaves. I took these shots a couple of days ago right after a wind storm cleaned the branches of most of the city's branches.
But springtime is when you can really notice these beautiful trees. While they produce bright green fan-shaped leaves, they also bear fruit - unless the city remembers to spray them in late summer! And for several years during the time I was in the Valley Vista, our Ginkgos did not get their dose of tree birth control.
The Ginkgo fruits would fall to the ground, get stepped on, and get slippery - we worried about the old ladies in the building slipping on their trip down the hill.
But there was something else. The fruit of this lovely tree smells really, really bad when someone steps on it. Like the most intense dog poop you could imagine! And once it gets onto your Ferregamos, it takes years to dissipate.
My apartment would take on aura of Ginkgo!
Yikes!
We now have an energetic young mayor who has our Department of Public Works on full alert for picking up the trash, filling potholes and spraying the Ginkgo trees. And this will help to make Washington a much more beautiful and livable city!
I look out over a 400 acre nature reserve and I can officially say that the leaves are 90% off the trees. The good news is I can now see the river the bad news is I miss the leaves on the trees :-(
I had no idea that the Ginko fruit was so nasty. Isn't Ginko supposed to be good for your health?
Cindy, It's what we call a "winter view"! And yes, Ginkgo poop is pretty terrible!
Natalie, Thanks! I always have my little camera in my purse looking for blog or photo ideas!
Patricia- You amaze me.....
Patricia Kennedy... REALTOR, Book-writer, Superb Parallel parker AND Horticulturist... actually a Dendrologist (the study of trees) -but who knows what THAT is!
They are very pretty trees and now I what kind they are! Thanks for sharing the pictures.
James, I don't know that you can say I actually "studied" these trees, though I certainly observed them closely over the years, especially when their stinky little fruit found it's way onto my shoe!
And Danny, I'm sorta missing the leaves around here! Maybe, like Cindy, your view has improved!
Pat, awesome pictures...what a lovely street you live on! I'm envious :)
Hi Patricia,
I just love Washington. Those 3 story townhomes are certainly different from my market. I have so many moving here from DC and they are looking for the same - to no avail.
That said, you make a great point. If you're happy and you know it stick around. If you're not it's time for a reassesment. I'm in it for the long haul. Let's stay in touch.