Government > Public Works > Vegetation Maintenance

Vegetation Maintenance

About the Vegetation Maintenance Division

The Vegetation Maintenance division maintains the City’s public gardens, planted streetscapes, and stormwater bioretention facilities to add to Takoma Park’s neighborhoods’ beauty and enhanced environment.

Division Objectives

Provide maintenance of public spaces and Rights of Way as needed, including plant care, mowing, invasive plant management, and litter pick up.
Perform garden and turf management using the principles of Integrated Pest Management and Ecological Horticulture.
Renovate City garden and landscape areas as needed.
Maintain existing garden and landscaped areas, including those related to stormwater treatment.
Provide mowing Services for all turf on City-owned spaces from spring through fall.
Provide snow and ice removal on sidewalks along City-owned facilities and parks after winter storm events.

Initiatives & Projects

Stuart Armstrong Memorial Garden

Takoma Park is excited to have been the recipient of a $10,000 grant from PEPCO to transform the Stuart Armstrong Memorial Garden space into a Pollinator Arboretum, with additional educational opportunities for schoolchildren as well as for adults. The Stuart Armstrong Memorial Garden is the acre-and-a-half park located between the Takoma Park Municipal Building and Takoma Park Elementary School.

Read the article in its entirety on Page 1: Pocket Forest Designated as a Pollinator Arboretum

Circle Woods Restoration Project Coming

Takoma Park is excited to have been the recipient of a grant from PEPCO to perform environmental improvements in the Circle Woods property. Circle Woods is located in Ward 2 with pedestrian entrances in the 6600 block of Cockerille Avenue and 6700
Poplar Avenue. The city acquired the property in 1995 with the goal of preserving the floodplain from development.

Read the article in its entirety on Page 3: Circle Woods Restoration Project Coming

Electrification of Mowing Equipment

UPDATE: The mowing trailer is now equipped with all EV equipment for routine mowing!

Instead of replacing the aging zero-turn mower with more gas-powered equipment, we switched to an electric mower and purchased a commercial-grade electric weedwhacker. Besides reducing our gasoline use, the significant reduction of idle sound is another benefit of electric mowing equipment. Now, the entire mowing trailer is full equipped with electric equipment for routine mowing!

Quick Links

Upcoming Events

Stuart Armstrong Tree Planting

Date: November 16, 2024 | 9 am – 12 pm

Join the City of Takoma Park in planting the next generation of trees at Stuart Armstrong Garden/Pollinator Arboretum.

National Pollinator Week

Date: TBA

Nurturing Native Bees in the Takoma Park Area with Sam Droege
Celebrate National Pollinator Week with a presentation on local native bees by Sam Droege of U.S.G.S. and The Bee Lab. Unable to join us on June 18, 2024? Catch up with a recording of the Nurturing Native Bees in the Takoma Park Area presentation on the City TV Youtube page:

Nurturing Native Bees in the Takoma Park Area with Sam Droege (Video Link)

City Nature Challenge

Date: TBA

The City Nature Challenge is a friendly competition form of a bioblitz—an opportunity to observe and document plants, insects, animals, and fungi on a particular site.

In April 2023, the City hosted its first City Nature Challenge event. While the City is new to hosting, some of our residents are veterans of the project are active in documenting living organisms through the iNaturalist website.

This event took place over one weekend, in 482 cities across 46 countries. Participation in the annual event has been steadily growing since 2018. The D.C. Metropolitan area ranked fifth worldwide for participants and ninth for the number of species logged!

This event is a fun way to get out and explore our natural world and meet neighbors! Stay tuned for more information on the 2025 City Nature Challenge: https://www.citynaturechallenge.org/