Pleasant View
LDS Earth Stewardship: Mid-Atlantic project
11810 Darnestown Road, Gaithersburg, MD
Funded by a grant from The Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Montgomery County Water Quality Protection Fund
Photo above: Pleasant View native plant garden,
project of Latter-Day Saint Earth Stewardship: Mid-Atlantic
We used a $25,000 grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust to complete a storm water management, native plant landscaping and public education project on the historic African American site, Pleasant View in Gaithersburg, MD. We matched that grant with ~$34,500 in donations of plants, supplies, and volunteer labor. Please join us in this habitat creation project -- and share in an historic celebration of 150+ years at Pleasant View.
To date we've had 450+ volunteers help with our Pleasant View garden. THANK YOU! About half of these volunteers are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the rest come from our community, especially Fairhaven United Methodist Church and the Pleasant View Trustees. Many are taking what they’ve learned at Pleasant View and are planting natives in their home gardens.
Want to help? contact merikay to schedule yourself or family
Help clear the garden of weeds, transplant, edge beds and mulch. Enjoy being outdoors in nature. Please bring your own tools and gloves if possible. Email merikays@verzon.net in advance to schedule.
Quince Orchard Soccer Team at PV
November 1, 2023
The Q.O. boys soccer team and their coaches met with Merikay Smith and Rev. Gerry Green to learn a bit about the history of Pleasant View and to help in our native plant garden. Besides learning about the advantages of native plants, the boys also got hands-on experience with weeding, edging and spreading mulch. Despite it being a blustery day everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the work. The garden looks much better — especially the trees which were freed from burdensome weeds which take water and nutrients.
Others who have recently helped at PV with Jeff and/or Merikay: sister missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in October and members of the Kentlands Garden Club on November 6.
Celebration at PV
May 1, 2023
Event with senators ben cardin, Chris van hollen, and rep. david trone
Celebrating the funding of nearly $1M to complete the renovations of the historic school, church and the building of a new community center at Pleasant View — federal, state, and local leaders met to inspect the site and present a symbolic check. My favorite celebrity was Pearl Green (pink shawl) who is 104 years old and present along with her 99 year old brother Tompkins Hallman and sister, Esther Lyons as well as son Rev. Gerry Green, his wife Rita, and grandson Jason. There were many reporters present as Senator Ben Cardin had just announced an hour before that after a life-time of public service he is retiring at the end of his term. It was an honor to be invited, because of our native plant garden, to be at this event.
Spring volunteer day at pleasant view
saturday, April 29, 2023; 10 am to noon
Garden is thriving but so are the weeds. Please contact Merikay to help at any time — doesn’t have to be only our volunteer project days. merikays@verizon.net
FALL VOLUNTEER DAY AT PLEASANT VIEW
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2022; 10 AM TO NOON
We'll work in the garden to edge, mulch and divide the plants. There are some too vigorous plants that we'll dig out. (Want some native plants for your home garden?) Bring work gloves and a shovel. This event is geared for adults, teens and older children.
MERIKAY WILL PROVIDE PIZZA IF YOU RSVP SO WE KNOW YOU'RE COMING!
Pleasant View History
A major benefit of our Pleasant View project has been learning the history of this African American site — especially the first-hand history shared by former students of the historic segregated one-room schoolhouse. Pearl Green (now age 105), her son Rev. Gerry Green, Thompkins Hallman, Carolyn Thompson, Betsey Hebron, Melvin Joppy and others have come to our events and shared their Pleasant View experiences. This has added a wonderful dimension to our conservation landscaping project.
“Finding Fellowship”
Jason Green and others in the Green family have created a marvelous documentary film, Finding Fellowship, about the history of Pleasant View that is being shown on hundreds of PBS stations in 2022. Click on https://findingfellowship.film/ to find times it will be shown in your area. #DoersDo, #findingfellowship
What a blessing it has been to know so many of the individuals featured in this film through our gardening at Pleasant View. Photo below of Thompkins Hallman inside the former segregated school talking with our volunteers.
Pleasant View was purchased in 1868, just three years after the Civil War, as a place to build a church, school and cemetery. The Pleasant View Church, a part of the Washington Grove Circuit of the Washington Negro Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was completed in 1888 for residents of Quince Orchard. In 1901, after the school at Pleasant View was burned down in suspicious circumstances (other black schools in the area were also burned at about this time), a one-room frame schoolhouse which began life as a school for white children in 1875 was moved across Darnestown Road to Pleasant View. In 1968 the congregation of the Pleasant View AME Church joined with two other small Methodist Churches (white and black) to form Fairhaven United Methodist Church.The fascinating history of the Pleasant View community is documented by the Quince Orchard Project, a documentary film. Some of the history above came from https://www.preservationmaryland.org/pleasant-view-civil-war-to-civil-rights/
Education
Our Pleasant View project focuses on teaching the benefits of native plants and improved storm water management. We’ve hosted public tours of the gardens, have interpretive signage (see below), and have hosted presentations on the benefits of native plant landscaping and practical tips for transitioning lawn to habitat.
We spent ~$500 on plant ID tags to help you learn what we have planted. See what the deer and groundhogs are browsing and what is thriving. For more info on native plants click here.
We've planted 29 native trees and three sunny flower beds totaling 3,663 square feet where we replaced turf with native plants in 2017. We added a layer of compost, cardboard and mulch under the remaining shade tree. In 2018 we dug shallow, small holes in this new ~2,000 square feet bed where we planted native shade plants for more than 5,600 square feet of habitat.
Among the Pleasant View plants will be some you may want to plant in your garden too. Photos below show some of the plants and pollinators from summer of 2018.
Updates
Earth Day Garden Event
April 23, 2022
Thanks to all who helped on this project, particularly Brian Lowell and his Gaithersburg team of the OpenText Corporation. Thanks also to Melvin Joppy and Rev. Gerry Green and Rita Green who represented the PV Trustees at the event. Thirteen of us cleared the garden of many (but not all) of the weeds. Feel free to contact Merikay if you can help at another time at the garden.
Tree Planting, October 6, 2021
A group of boys and adults met at Pleasant View on Oct. 6 to plant an oak tree and several redbud trees. Digging was challenging as we were working in an area where previously there had been a very large, old tree. The oak should grow fairly rapidly at about two feet per year and provide shade to the area as well as habitat -- oaks are a keystone species for our area. The boys especially enjoyed interacting with a fuzzy native bumblebee.
Juneteenth 2020
Usually Pleasant View hosts a JuneFest to celebrate Juneteenth but not this year — so instead we held two small service events (June 19 and June 20) to pull weeds and mulch. Thanks to volunteers we made significant progress leaving the garden looking great. Perfect weather, good company and the chance to show that not only “Black Lives Matter” but also “Black History Matters!” The Opfar family brought 7 volunteers — they’re the ones in close proximity without masks. THANK YOU!
Day to Serve, September 21, 2019
Young single adults of the Seneca Stake came to serve by pulling weeds, spreading mulch, and planting. Photo above shows some of the volunteers and leaders. Info about other Day to Serve projects in our region: daytoserve.org.
If you want to help out as an individual, family or group at Pleasant View, please contact Merikay at merikays@verizon.net. See photos below from July 2019 and enjoy looking back over the history of our native plant garden habitat.
Earth Day Event, 2019
SATURDAY, May 4, 10 AM - NOON
Above: Stalwart earth stewards still working at noon, the end of the project. Below: Volunteers present as we start at 10 am.
Earth Day Stewardship
Sixty+ members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the Kentlands Ward and Montgomery Branch joined to weed, mulch, edge, and plant in the native plant garden. Perfect weather and willing workers meant we got a lot done. All beds were weeded and mulched, and new stone retaining walls built. Ricky Davis installed a birdhouse which he painted. The conservation landscape looks splendid now.
I visited Mt. Olive Church service today and Rev. Woods says it’s like having a small Garden of Eden to remind all of the wonders of Creation.
Special thanks to all who helped make the event a success including our team leaders, especially the Markoffs, as well as Sara Huang and Mary Ellen Blewett.
Earth stewardship fun!
Photos below from Clayton Foulger who is helping to lead the spring service events for the DC Stake.
Spring cleanup, april 11, 2019
Lisa Wade and two young men helped Merikay weed out hairy bitter cress. They want to come back to help more.Thanks!
Photo: Tompkins Hallman, Trustee in the historic school speaking with earth stewardship volunteers about the history of Pleasant View.
Among the Pleasant View plants will be some you may want to plant in your garden too. Photos below show some of the plants and pollinators summer of 2018.
Day to serve: September 22, 2018
More than 80 earth stewards joined us for a Day to Serve project on September 22 from 9:30 am to noon. Most were members of the Bethesda and Potomac congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Pleasant View Trustees Carolyn Thompson, Tomkins Hallman, and Melvin Joppy along with Betsey Hebron shared their experiences of attending the historic colored school. We planted ten more native trees, weeded tree circles and flower beds, then spread a mountain of mulch. Men worked on resetting tilting cemetery stones.
Key leaders were Vesna Mirjacic, Winston Wilkinson and Paul Wright who organized the event for their wards. Winston had not been to Pleasant View before but learned that he has relatives buried there — and at our event he met Melvin Joppy, a cousin and Trustee of PV.
Photo is of mother and daughter who worked together in our native plant garden for Student Service Learning (SSL) hours and both seemed to enjoy it.
SSL Builds Bonds
We weeded the garden at Pleasant View on July 21 and July 28. Pope Farm is donating 100+ additional native plants to us. Thanks to our rain the plants should be able to survive being planted now. Special thanks to Dara Ballow-Giffen for getting the plants.
136 new native plants have been added to our garden donated from Pope Farm, planted by this mother/daughter team plus Jeff/Merikay!
Photo below shows two of our four planting areas.
150th Celebration, June 2018
the 150th anniversary celebration at pleasant view - june 23, 2018
"We've Come This Far By Faith" sung by Pleasant View folk served as a great theme for the 150th celebration. County Executive Ike Leggett and the Mayor of Gatihersburg gave appropriate declarations including naming the day for Pearl Green whose 100th birthday we celebrated. She even got a personal letter from President Obama. We were inspired by the legendary Chris Gardner (Pursuit of Happyness fame). The Seneca Gospel Choir sang as did the Royal Harmonizers. We had a table at the garden area with information about native plants, habitat creation, and storm water management. Many ESE volunteers came to the celebration.
Our Pleasant View Garden Beginnings: April 2017 - April 2018
Photo of volunteers above, Earth Day 2017.
April 21, 2018, Saturday, 10 am to noon
Thanks
We celebrated Earth Day 2018 by planting 5 trees and lots of shade perennials. Thanks to the 28 volunteers who helped.
We were happy to have Bill Phillips, Regis Canny, Eryn Chastain and her daughters from Fairhaven join us. Rev. Gerard Green, Rita Green, Carolyn Thompson and Melvin Joppy, Jr. have been regular volunteers and PV Trustees. Laurie-Anne Sayles, City Council of Gaithersburg, came with her husband. LDS volunteers: Lauris Hunter, Celia Paulsen, and Bill and Maura Pratt (and their children), Laura Friend (what a great name) and her children. Jeff Smith, who spent 7 hours on Saturday helping with PV claims to enjoy it which allows Merikay to enjoy it too!
Daniel Clark provided us with a truck load of mulch. He is a licensed arborist working in our area. www.clarktrees.com
Click on photos below to see April 21, 2018 event.
Members of the ROI All Stars came several times to Pleasant View and weeded around the base of PV trees. Here’s a before and after weeding comparison. Thank you ROI.
Thanks to the Potomac Garden Center
The Potomac Garden Center donated bulbs for our Pleasant View garden. There were a few narcissus growing under the large tree planted some time in the distant past. Among the bulbs: 'Ice Follies,' has been grown since at least 1953. 'Mt. Hood,' since 1934. 'Jack Snipe' is pre 1951. Narcissus poeticus is a species daffodil, grown in gardens as it appears in nature. Hyacinths 'Delft Blue' (1944) and 'Blue Jacket' (1953) along with 'Pink Pearl' (1922) are now in the Pleasant View garden.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2017
With 20 volunteers we spread mulch, planted trees, and prepared the beds for winter. Special thanks to Matt Markoff for donating three loads of shredded wood for mulch and to Chief Markoff for bringing extra wheelbarrows. Also to Jeff Smith for helping to setup the event and putting up deer protection. Rev. Gerry Green was also on hand to help shovel. Thanks to all the garden is ready for winter.
Above, a view of the garden on Nov. 3, 2017. New shrubs with bright fall colors have been added. Click to see the photos.
2017 Volunteer Days
Earth Day - Saturday, april 22, 2017 first big work day. 9 AM - 1 PM
Wednesday, April 26, LDS Church Youth, 7 pm
Thursday, April 27, LDS Cub scout Pack, 4:30 pm
Saturday, April 29, Youth Volunteer Day, 9 am - 1 pm
Tuesday, May 2, finish spring planting, 7 pm
Tuesday, May 23, presentation "Native Plants for Gardens," 7 pm
Saturday, June 23, June Fest, noon - 4 pm
Wednesday, August 9, 9 am open garden for mc master Gardeners
Monday, September 11, 10 am - noon; 7 - 8 pm
Thursday, October 19, 4 pm - 6 pm
Saturday, October 21, 10 am - 11 am
Monday, October 23, 10 am - noon
Saturday, November 18, 10 am - noon
Day to Serve on 9/11 at Pleasant View
A Girl Scout troop led by Dusti Conner, a group from ROI, Bishop Chris Matthews and other volunteers joined us on September 11 to prepare our native plant garden for fall. We weeded the beds and also many of the tree circles. Special thanks to Carolyn Thompson for bringing refreshments and to Eric and Gaylene Raynor for celebrating their anniversary with us.
Click photos below to see how the garden looked July 15 and August 19, 2017. Thanks to all who've helped at Pleasant View, especially our watering crew of Patty Dirlam, Angela Ellis, Mary Hlavinka, Melvin Joppy, Carolyn Thompson, and Celia Paulsen.
Pleasant View Project
Native Plant Garden Creation over time
Today (June 30) I noticed native pollinators are already present in the garden including native bees, skippers, and a fritillary. Also saw two yellow finches, a dove, and several other birds visiting the beds. I've started adding a few name tags (thanks to Dara Ballow-Giffen).
June Fest, June 23, 2017
Saturday, Noon to 4 pm
Free: food, heritage celebration, QOHS drum line, Royal harmonizers, and more
Merikay spoke briefly at the June Fest program. She was awarded the 2017 "Doers Do" award by Rev. Gerry Green for her work in obtaining and implementing the CBT grant at Pleasant View. The Royal Harmonizers also received the "Doers Do" award for their 60+ years of singing -- and as a great treat to all present, we got to hear them perform. Click below for photos of the garden, summer 2017. We were featured in a local article: https://mygreenmontgomery.org/2017/plant-roots-meet-historic-roots-pleasant-view-historic-site/
Tuesday, May 23, Free presentation "Native Plants for your Garden”
We learned about native plants for shade and sunny areas -- including many of the plants in our new Pleasant View garden. Merikay spoke for an hour to a packed house covering how to design gardens for habitat, plant selection, sources of native plants and more.
Yes, we have deer who eat meals thanks to our garden. Our defense: many of the plants we've chosen are not their favorites, we use deer spray, and interplant plants they dislike (strong scents help like mountain mint) along with the ones they like. We lose some but most are holding their own despite deer.
Earth Day April 2017 - We Start to Plant
We began Earth Day, our first volunteer day at Pleasant View, with words and a prayer offered by Rev. Gerry Green (in green vest). Photos above from Lauris Hunter - click on photos above to see all. Merikay, Project Leader, may look funny in her pink hat (thanks to the recent Women's March) but she's easy to spot for the 100+ volunteers who want questions answered. We worked despite drizzly rain.
Caitlin Moulton, professional photographer, donated her time to photograph our Earth Day event. See her photos here:
Photo from Celia Paulsen.
Earth Day at Pleasant View -- over 110 volunteers worked despite light rain. Check out the gallery of photos below by clicking on the photos. If you have some to add, email them to Merikay at merikays@verizon.net.
Click on the photo above to see a slideshow of the beginning stages of our Pleasant View landscaping project. (22 photos)
Click above to see more of our Pleasant View friends (10 photos). The last photos feature Esther Lyon's great grandson.
Special Thanks:
Matt Markoff (above) spent two days scraping the sod from the planting areas. We absolutely could not have done this project without his help. Matt is a co-leader of Earth Stewardship East. He also donated and delivered the piles of mulch that we used on Earth Day.
Carolyn Thompson, a trustee of Pleasant View, spent days gathering the food/drinks and preparing the school for our event.
Dara Ballow-Giffen arranged for us to get 100 free perennials donated by Pope Farm -- and she picked them up for us and delivered them to Pleasant View. Lee Anne Gelletly also donated substantial numbers of native plants from her garden.
Caitlin Moulton, professional photographer, donated her time to photograph our Earth Day event. See her photos here:
Thanks to Dara Ballow-Giffen we are receiving 100 donated native plants from Pope Farm Nursery. Merikay has been in contact with the MD State Highway Department and they have approved our planting design. Carolyn Thompson of the Pleasant View Trustees is recruiting people from the Pleasant View and Fairhaven community.
Photos from April 29 - a long work day at ~90 degrees. Stalwart volunteers worked for hours in the heat. Click above to see more photos. To date we have had 200+ volunteers work on the conservation project!
Educational EventS
On Tuesday, May 23, 7 p.m. Pleasant View we filled the old school house for a presentation on native plants. Our second educational event was a tour of Constitution Gardens in Gaithersburg — a park with native plants, interpretive signs and demonstration storm water management areas. Merikay Smith and Lauren Hubbard were on hand to answer questions. The final educational event was held in the Lakelands Clubhouse, February 2019, where 30+ local residents learned about ways to improve storm water management at home.
Below are some of my favorite photos of our April 2017 event when we launched the Pleasant View project. What a pleasure to get together as a community to create beauty and heal nature.
Old photo of the Pleasant View Church. Unfortunately all of these mature trees are now gone and the front steps are overgrown. As I talk to people in the community, many think the church is no longer in use. They're wrong. A small (~9) group of friendly folks meets there each Sunday - Mt. Olive Christian Church. Helen Woods is their Pastor. Stop by one of their services on Sunday morning. Sunday School at 10 am; Worship Service at 11:30 am.
View on May 3 after beds are planted and mulch is applied.
The plan
Our proposal calls for planting more than 500 native trees, shrubs and perennials in a landscaped area just under 5,000 square feet along Darnestown Road. Our landscape will provide a visual buffer between the cemetery and street as well as improved storm water management and natural habitat.
We welcome any individuals or groups to join with us on this project. Leaders of the following environmental and faith groups have supported our project: Pleasant View Trustees, Muddy Branch Alliance, Seneca Creek Watershed Partnership, Fairhaven United Methodist Church, Mt. Olive Church, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Kentlands Ward, Bethesda Ward, Potomac Ward, Montgomery Branch, Seneca Stake Young Singles Ward), Darnestown Presbyterian Church, Seneca Congregation Church, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and ROI All Stars.
Funds for this Pleasant View project come from the Montgomery County Water Quality Protection Fund through the Chesapeake Bay Trust.
Native Plants
Pleasant View Plant List
Trees: 24 total – others by donation. Some of these trees will be planted in Spring 2016, others in Fall 2017. 3 gallon – 15 gallon
Latin Name Common Name Number of plants
Acer saccharum Sugar maple 2
Betula nigra 'Heritage' River birch 3
Cercis candensis Redbud 7 or more*
Cornus florida, ‘Appalacian’ Dogwood 7
Magnolia grandiflora Southern magnolia 3*
Magnolia virginiana Sweetbay magnolia 2
Shrubs: 115 various sizes
Hibiscus moscheutos Rose mallow 22
Hydrangea quercifolia Oakleaf hydrangea 8
Ilex glabra Inkberry 13
Ilex opaca 'Maryland Dwarf' American holly dwarf 14
Ilex verticillata Winterberry 20
Juniperus virginiana ‘Gray Owl’ Juniper 18
Lindera benzoin Spicebush 5*
Morella caroliniensis Bayberry 6
Callicarpa Americana American beautyberry 3*^
Cephalanthus occidentalis Buttonbush (fall 2017) 3^
Cornus stolonifera Red-osier dogwood 3*^
Perennials: 395, various sizes
Asclepias incarnata Swamp milkweed 5*
Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly milkweed 16
Aster laevis, ‘Bluebird’ Smooth blue aster 5
Aster novae-angliae New England aster 10**
Baptisia australis Wild blue indigo 7**
Coreopsis tripteris Tall tickseed (sign) 15
Coreopsis verticillate, ‘Zagreb’ Tickseed 15
Echinacea purpurea Purple coneflower 50
Eupatoreum maculatum Spotted Joe-pye weed 15
Heliopsis helianthoides Ox eye sunflower 9
Lilium canadense Canada lily 10
Monarda punctata Spotted bee-balm 13
Monarda didyma Bee balm 15
Panicum virgatum Switchgrass 13
Penstemon digitalis Beardtongue (2018) 13
Phlox paniculata, ‘David’ Garden phlox (2018) 10^
Phlox subulata Moss phlox 20
Physostegia virginiana Obedient plant (2018) 5
Pycnanthemum tenuifolium Narrow-leafed mountain mint 10*
Rudbeckia fulgida Orange coneflower(20 sign) 45
Rudbeckia hirta Black-eyed susan 50
Rudbeckia triloba Brown-eyed susan *
Schizachyrium scoparium Little blue-stem 7
Solidago canadensis Goldenrod 6*
Solidago rugosa, ‘Fireworks’ Goldenrod 6*
Yucca filamentosa Adam’s needle (sign) 10
Brown-eyed susan will be transplanted from my garden as filler for gaps where shrubs will eventually grow.
**Asters will be added in the fall to fill in gaps.
^ Beautyberry, buttonbush, red-twig dogwood and garden phlox will go in front of fence near drain.
Native grass: Panicum virgatum 'Heavy Metal' and 'Northwind' are of the blue-green leaf variety and 'Huron Solstice' has more burgandy-green foliage. Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium is a smaller, blue-green grass. Select based on available options.
Plants for shade under mature tree to be planted in 2018: 156 plants
Adiantum pedatum Northern maidenhair fern 5
Aquilegia canadensis Eastern columbine 10
Athyrium filix-femina Northern lady fern 5
Clethra alnifolia Summersweet 3
Dennstaedtia punctilobula Hay-scented fern 5
Dryopteris intermedia Evergreen wood fern 10
Dryopteris marginalis Evergreen shield fern 5
Kalmia angustifolia Lambkill 3
Lobelia siphilitica Great blue lobelia 5
Mertensia virginica Bluebells 10
Polystichuym acrostichoides Christmas fern 10
Arisaema triphyllum Jack-in-the-pulpit 10
Asarum canadense Wild ginger 10
Dicentra canadense Squirrel corn 5
Dicentra eximia Wild bleeding hearts 5
Iris cristata Dwarf crested iris 10
Delphinium tricorne Dwarf larkspur 10
Geranium maculatum Wild Geranium 10
Tradescantia virginiana Spiderwort 10
Zizia aurea Golden alexanders 5
Plants marked * are donated and not counted in the total for cost estimates.
Photos above from Linda Stein, April 29.