Bumblebees on a Seven-Son Tree. Like many Greenbelters, I’m alarmed by the decline of bees and other pollinators and want the plants in my tiny yard to help support them. So because the coleus I’d been growing in pots in my front garden attracted no wildlife at all, I asked garden blog readers (in this post) to suggest more pollinator-friendly ...

First, Prince George’s County passed a “MeatOut Day” proclamation, urging residents to abstain from eating meat and consider the diverse alternatives available. The Council noted that “residents face a variety of chronic health conditions related to diet and the County Council is committed to improving the health of all of our residents.” We’re also encouraged to “consider the health, humane ...

English ivy growing in trees between the “Mother and Child” statue and the Granite Building in Roosevelt Center. Hey, Greenbelters! Now, before the leaves are out it’s pretty easy to spot English ivy growing in trees, where it can damage them. And a lesser-known harm is from the berries iti produces after it’s grown vertically and matures – berries that ...

From left, Barrie Hershkowitz, Greenbelters Steve and Janet Mirsky and Patty Green McCarty, and senior volunteer Dennis Hartnett.   I’ve posted my appreciation for the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge several times on this blog, including a First Visit in November, a Tram Ride in mid-March, and  the North Tract’s “Wildlife Conservation and Recreation Day.” The 12,000+ acre refuge is just 15 ...

Greenbelt is blessed with an abundance of events celebrating Black History Month – hope you’re partaking! I’ve particularly enjoyed the art shows. At the New Deal Cafe Top: Shaymar Higgs, curator of the show. Below: Lois Alexander-Lane speaking about her mother’s role in black fashion history, and artist Shanai Mushala. All month, the New Deal Cafe is filled with art ...

At the time that Greenbelt first promoted “No-Mow April” in 2022, this garden writer, Master Gardener and lifelong gardener wrote “Beware No-Mow April” about its potential harm to turfgrass, citing U.Maryland lawn-care advice. Even if you’re anti-lawn, the most environmentally responsible kind of lawn is a thick, healthy one that prevents stormwater run-off and weeds while requiring no treatments of ...

Greenbelt writer Kim Keyes, we recently learned, doesn’t JUST write. She also makes videos, and has a new playlist called “The Baltimore and  Washington, D.C. Area that Tourists Rarely See” and it’s a great addition to our blog category “Day Trips.” We thank her for expanding our horizons and confirming that our area is incredibly rich in places to visit ...

I was listening to the podcast “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” about the bipartisan-by-design Ethics Committee that’s able to do things like – in the news this week – investigate Matt Gaetz for possible sex-trafficking, lobbying violations and obstruction of justice. The committee has equal party representation, so neither is in the majority. Rep. Steny Hoyer, who represented Greenbelt for decades, ...

By Catherine Plaisant (plaisant@umd.edu) All photos by Catherine unless indicated otherwise. With the planting of an interpretive sign at the end of December, the Greenbelt Community Conservation Landscape and Demonstration Project is reaching completion. The interpretative sign A team of neighbors living near 65 Ct. Ridge Road worked together – and with Greenbelt Homes Inc. (GHI) – to obtain a ...

The following letter by Mark Cheater and me was published 1/18/24 in the Greenbelt News Review.  Here it includes a correction suggested by the editor. Title: “Charter Fixes Needed for Council Elections The tragic loss of Councilmember Ric Gordon has highlighted problems in Greenbelt’s charter that need to be fixed. These fixes would respond to legitimate complaints about the lack ...

Top traffic posts and pages of 2023. As one does at year-end (or a little late in my case), here’s a capsule look at what happened on Greenbelt Online during 2023, and changes coming in 2024. Top Traffic Pages The Top 10 traffic-getting pages on the site in 2023 were: Home, how to prune your our hedges, how to shop ...

As promised, Greenbelt Online is following breaking news about the FBI headquarters projected relocation to the Greenbelt Metro Station, and adding links to news items to our chronological archive here. Most news stories since our first blog post about the Greenbelt announcement have repeated statements of opposition from Virginia office-holders, and mentioned that the FBI’s Inspector General is reviewing the ...

Good news for me and my fellow Maryland seniors – if you need the safety of a daily check-in, there’s no need to pay monthly for an automated phone check-up service. Maryland now provides that service for free if you’re 65 or older. It’s the first state in the country to do that! How it works You’ll get an automated ...

Here’s the second and final batch of blog stories that our subscribers didn’t receive by email while our subscription service was “paused” mistakenly. (Here’s the first batch of five.) Five Posts that Our Subscribers Didn’t Receive “Wild Reels Film Festival Highlights Outdoor Recreation“ featured the outstanding new film festival in Greenbelt this year – the Wild Reels Film Festival – ...

Winters here in Greenbelt are pretty mild and getting milder, but last week, with freezing weather, I was reminded that I hate walking or biking (or doing anything) when the weather is that wintery. (While yes, appreciating that it could be so much worse. I spent my college years near Lake Erie, so I KNOW.) Swimming Indoors in Cold Weather ...

Euglossine orchid bee pollinating a vanilla orchid flower in the train exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Garden. If you’re looking for something fun (and educational) to do between now and New Year’s Day, the U.S. Botanic Garden gets my enthusiastic vote, especially since their beloved trains are running outdoors! (Thanks to covid, and now permanent.) It’s weather-permitting, of course, but ...

A big Greenbelt welcome to our new city manager Josue Salmeron and his family, who JUST bought a GHI home on Ridge Road! When I ran into them, Josue’s wife Tania Hutchinson was marveling at Roosevelt Center, and the kids Ahnika and Josue Brooks seemed to like it, too. On the left is a brother (of Josue, I believe), who ...

What a news week for Greenbelt – the election, and now the announcement late Thursday that Greenbelt has been selected as the site of the new FBI headquarters! It’s SUCH a big story for Greenbelt – the announcement and everything to follow – that Greenbelt Online is reporting it, with a focus on coverage by the media. We begin with ...

“What happened to emails from Greenbelt Online?” It took hearing that question (from someone in the grocery store) for me to finally realize that subscribers to this blog had stopped receiving updates by email – back in March of this year. Sorry!!! The reason is that the number of subscribers had become too large for our free version of Mailchimp, ...

Mayor Emmett Jordan holds the city’s Proclamation of the 20th Anniversary of the Forest Preserve. He’s joined by “forest protectors” Susan Barnett, Paul Downs and Konrad Herling, as Council member Ric Gordon applauds. Photo by the author. What a glorious event it was celebrating the 20th anniversary of Greenbelt’s beloved Forest Preserve. A crowd of forest-lovers turned out to hear ...