Green Scenes from Washington DC

Over the weekend, we were in Washington DC looking at colleges for my oldest. We decided to make Washington a family weekend trip while we visited Georgetown and George Washington. Of course, I always have my trusty camera to capture the greening of America as I travel. Here are some of the green finds I found in the Nation’s capital:

I saw this sign near the grass right by the Lincoln Memorial. I have a fascination with Buffalo grass and have always wondered how it would fare in New Jersey. (I know, an odd thing to have a fascination about.) It is supposed to be drought tolerant. Does anyone have Buffalo grass? Is it like fescue grass?

Here is a picture of the Buffalo grass that I took as it was just getting dark. It looks like regular grass to me but I tried to reach over to touch it. I sure the security guards at the memorial were wondering what I was doing.

I think this is an electric car for the park service to tool around in. I walked around it looking for a the gas tank but could not find it. It says “E4” on it. Does anyone know?

These recycle bins were in the subway. I don’t recall seeing newspaper recycling bins in the NYC subways. (Anyone, correct me if I am wrong about this.) I like this idea since so many people read the newspaper while traveling on the subway. Now, instead of putting the newspapers in the trash, you can put in it in these containers.

I was really impressed with the DC subways. They were so clean and cool on a very humid night. When I have been in the NYC subways in the summer, it can be very hot.

If you live in a big city, you probably have seen buses like this bus. If anyone knows of a private bus service in NJ that uses natural gas or a hybrid, let me know.

On this note regarding the buses, I have never seen a hybrid taxi before. Is this common in your city? This cab driver must have thought I was completely crazy to take a picture of the side of his taxi.

Great Vintage store in the Georgetown Area. The owner told me that there is a store in Las Vegas and this store in DC. She has both new and old clothes. She told me that they are very careful as to what they select to make sure it is in excellent condition. I picked out a vintage green 1950’s dress but did not have time to try it on. The owner assured me that they would have a website soon so you can buy online. Do you have a favorite vintage store in your city?

I passed by Tugooh Toys, an eco-friendly toy store located in the Georgetown area. Unfortunately, it was closed when I took the picture. The banner in the window reads as follows: “Save what’s left. Go Green!” Check out Hannah Schardt’s story, “Safe and Sound Toys” in the Washington Post (September, 2007) with a blurb about this store.

I was dying to check out Sweet Green, a yogurt and organic salads place in Georgetown.
My husband ordered their plain fozen yogurt ice cream with a topping. (It is not organic.) It had a unique authentic yogurt taste just like plain yogurt. He enjoyed the tart taste. (See picture to the right.)

The store is the real green deal in trendy Georgetown with their compostable utensils as well as their menu printed on plantable paper.

I got my first close encounter (of the first kind) with a BigBelly solar trash can.   On the trash can, it says it can hold enough trash to reduce the amount of trash collections by 4 times. The solar panel is on top of the trash can. (See picture to the right.)

Unfortuneately, some people did not put their garbage in the trash can and the recycling can was overflowing with recyclables.

This Georgetown University building’s solar panels were installed in the 1970s during the oil crisis. Today, those solar panels are still work horses pumping out 30% of the energy needed for the building. I like how the solar panels are integrated into the design.

What I liked about DC is the number of small parks and lush landscape. Many times I was told to “hurry up” since I was literally smelling the roses. I did not recognize some of these plants and hope you can tell me what they are. What is the dark purple plant and the small pink ground cover?

I love these red plants. They are all over DC. What are they? Does anyone know if the deer like them?

These trees were all over DC. Some had big red flowers. This one seems to have berries.

Pink Salvia? Anyone know its name?

Please add to this post as to other green aspects of Washington DC. What is your favorite place to visit while you are there?

Is there a green aspect in your city you would like to highlight?  You never know. I might be visiting there looking at colleges. I have three more kids to go.

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