A Message from the WHCA Board /  by Lori Bigler

Dear Woodland Heights Neighbors,

We are all living through time unprecedented within most of our living memory. I see no need to belabor the point, but, group meetings for Associations like ours are, at least for the near term, right out of the question. The result is we cannot hold our scheduled May General Meeting.

The business of the WHCA goes on despite the Covid crisis. The image above is a screen shot from our April board meeting, conducted using Zoom.US. It was one of the shortest meetings in recent years.

The business of the WHCA goes on despite the Covid crisis. The image above is a screen shot from our April board meeting, conducted using Zoom.US. It was one of the shortest meetings in recent years.

The overarching issue for the Association at our May General Meeting is our Annual Meeting, in which we vote on the Board of Director positions scheduled for election. To facilitate this unavoidable cancellation, in our Board Meeting of April 7, 2020, the board voted unanimously to postpone board elections until the next General Meeting, scheduled for July 14, 2020.

To accommodate this action, several outgoing board members have graciously agreed to stay on and see us through to the July election. In preparation for the July General Meeting and Board Election, we need to identify candidates for all positions up for re-election. We have interest from neighbors for Directors of Security and Beautification, but still need candidates for President and Directors of Communications and Deed Restrictions. If you are interested in any of these positions, please contact Alaina Hebert, the Secretary for the WHCA and the Chair of the Nominations Committee, at secretary@woodland-heights.com.

I know July is not the best time for holding elections. Historically, our July meeting is our meeting of lowest attendance. Therefore, in order to build a quorum permitting the election, I am appealing to your civic pride to break that trend. We truly need you to attend.

Further, please rest assured we, the Board of Directors of the WHCA, will find a suitable way to hold a meeting, either in person or virtually, based on the situation as prevails on that second Tuesday of July. To be plain, your attendance, regardless of the fashion or format, is important for our community.

- Harry McMahon, President, WHCA

Creature Feature: The DeHaven Zoo on Morrison Street /  by Lori Bigler

My brother and I were playing with our stuffed animals and were making boxes for their homes. Then my mom came up with the idea to make a zoo, so we didn’t have to throw them away. Because I feel sad whenever my mom makes me throw away our cardboard creations.  Now she made them weather proof so we can keep them forever.  We searched up some facts to make the zoo more interesting. We added the art board later then I caught a some tadpoles to add, too. The tadpoles were my idea. 

- Annie DeHaven

Yard-of-the-Month: 3405 Northwood /  by Lori Bigler

As Beautification Director, I have been fortunate to meet many lovely people in our neighborhood these last two years. It's been exciting to knock on doors, never knowing who I might meet, and always having unexpected and delightful conversations. Each was a little different, but one theme was a constant: our neighbors' gardens give them peace and joy. Our neighbors love their piece of earth and love learning how to tend it so it gives back. It's been fulfilling to tell these neighbors that their care for their gardens brings peace and joy to their community too. We are all so lucky to call them neighbors.

This month is no different! My final pick for Yard of the Month before our next Director takes the seat goes to Caroline and Roy Johnston at 3405 Northwood. Their yard was originally nominated by an admiring neighbor a couple months ago and I'm so happy it was! It's a small space that I had (regrettably) overlooked, but then the more I saw, the more I loved it!

Talking with Roy about all he did to bring it to life was inspiring. The space looks challenging: part along a hot afternoon driveway, part in shade along the front, and area measured in small feet and inches. But as we are out for our walks or bike rides with our families lately, stop and take your time here. It's a sweet spot in the Woodland Heights. Their yard shows us you don't need a lot of space to do beautiful things!

In these times when it's difficult to meet new people, I've decided to leave Roy's write up in his own voice - it's just right and personal, and easier to feel more connected with these kind neighbors. Thank you Roy and Caroline for sharing your yard with our neighborhood!

Stephanie Riceman, Dir of Beautification

We bought our home in 2014 and started on the yard in February 2015. We began by removing the poor existing soil (lots of construction sand), using river rock to separate the beds from the house siding, and building a new stone wall outside to replace the wooden one which had collapsed. I also installed drainage and sprinklers. I'm proud to say that I did all the work myself with help too from Caroline and our kids. My first time building a stone wall or laying out a garden!

We had help from Buchanan's to draw up a landscape plan and advise on plant selection. We wanted southern staples in the landscaping, color throughout the year, and different shades of green. We also did the planting and mulching ourselves. Our layout has changed quite a bit since then as we've moved plants where they have struggled and looked to create more interest with varying heights and size.

Our recent projects have been installing decomposed granite & rock border in our courtyard garden and planting a vegetable and herb garden. I am also working to replace the pet mesh on the fence with lower pet bars. I think that will really complete the texture and visual interest by letting the plants flow more naturally through the fence. A fun current experiment is letting one area fallow and seeing what naturally pops up - I'm calling this our wildflower garden experiment!

As I've learned more about gardening, I am increasingly drawn to low maintenance (and cost), with a focus on hardy (frost and heat tolerant) perennials. We are also switching to more indigenous staples and have introduced some butterfly and bird friendly plants. I find learning about what works in a specific spot to be an enjoyable part of the process. I've also enjoyed learning how to build the other structural pieces of the garden (a shed, the raised beds, the borders, the irrigation, and the vegetable boxes).

Some of my personal highlights are the multiple monarchs drawn to our three milkweed plants (thank you Travis!), the many lizards hiding everywhere, our shrimp-plants and jasmine on the fence (the color and aroma), and the thriving hybrid-tea roses which we added two years ago. I have an ivy vine which was a houseplant gift from my mom and cuttings from it have grown in each home we've lived. We are also looking forward to growing tomatoes, basil, and jalapeno from the St. Mark's garden this year.

I personally love the beauty and peace which the garden brings, how we enjoy it throughout the year, and how the kids find many creatures - even in this little space. It also connects me back to my family (and my wife's family) and the gardens they have nurtured over the years.

Here are some of the plants we have:

Vegetable garden:

  • Mint

  • Tomatoes

  • Jalapeño

  • Basil

  • Chives

  • Star anise

  • Parsley

  • Thyme

  • Gladiola (for cut flowers and color)

Front stone bed:

  • White Knight

  • Milkweed

  • Ligularia

  • Fire cracker fern

  • Camellia (shi shi)

  • Variegated dianella

  • Wood violets (ground cover)

  • Ajuga (caitlin's giant - ground cover)

Side beds by front door:

  • Gardenia

  • Hybrid tea roses

  • Mexican sedum

  • Camellia (japonica kramer supreme)

  • Azalaea - George Tabor

  • Abelea - Kaleidoscope

Inside fence:

  • Giant iris

  • Star Jasmine

  • Giant Liriope

  • English ivy in the hanging basket

Thanks again for the honor and the joy of sharing our project with you!

- Roy

The Great Flower Hunt /  by Lori Bigler

Our family of five (Lucy, Wesley, Gus, Christina and Dusty) had a great time cruising the hood looking for homes participating in the great flower hunt.  We had such a fun time looking for all the flowers in our neighborhood last week.  Since the beginning of the social distancing, we have loved riding our bikes through the hood and the different treasure hunts added a new element with something new to look for each week. 

We started with the rainbow hunt a few weeks ago, and enjoyed the sunshine, bear, and Easter egg hunts.  This one was especially entertaining because we looked not only at the handmade flowers people created, but also all the flowers in people's front yards and gardens. 

The most popular activity for our family is to yell out at the top of our lungs I FOUND A FLOWER - loud and proud.  We love our neighborhood so much and the fun, creative ways we can come together as s community while respecting the social distancing rules.    

  • Lucy (9) - "I liked getting out of the house, riding my bike and being with my family."

  • Wesley (8) - "I like to ride my bike by my friends' houses and look for their flowers." 

  • Gus (3) - "I like it because I pick them up and give them to my friends because I want to."  (He didn't do that, he's 3.  What he really likes is riding in the bike trailer with his snacks, water bottle and music.)

Christina Wilkerson
www.beautycounter.com/christinawilkerson

Why Should You Join Woodland Heights Civic Association? /  by Lori Bigler

Did you know?

You can now join the Woodland Heights civic association at any time during the year. In the past, memberships were always a fixed-term from April 1 to March 31. Recent improvements in how we handle payments allow us more flexibility. Now, your WHCA membership is one year from the date you last paid your dues.

We’ve also brought back the auto renewal option. You will receive a notice annually before you are charged each year. This is a great way to go.

Your civic association dues pay for special events, such as the home and garden tour, Lights in the Heights, maintenance of the Watson and Norhill esplanades and enforcement of deed restrictions. It also pays for the Woodland-Heights website and newsletters.

Membership also ensures your ability to vote at association meetings. Homeowners only please. Each household gets one vote.

If you have any questions or would like to know if your membership is current, please contact me at membership@woodland-heights.org

- Kelly Hare, Director of Membership, WHCA

Woodland Heights Sunshine Hunt /  by Lori Bigler

This past week there was a Sunshine Hunt in Woodland Heights for anyone who wanted to participate.  The event was to show cheerfulness in this hard time and brighten up our day.  Participants went around and took pictures or counted different suns at houses in the neighborhood.  Everyone was eligible to win a prize at the Sternfel’s house, courtesy of the Woodland Heights Civic Association. 

This hunt was harder than the rainbow hunt because there were fewer suns out, but the suns that we saw were very creative and pretty.  We saw a sun made of papier mache, some paper suns in windows and suns in chalk on the sidewalk.  There was also one made with strings and sticks, like a Tiger’s Eye.  The hunt started April 1 and ended April 5.   We also saw a lot of sidewalk art that brightened up the neighborhood. 

Thank you to everyone who participated and our next hunt is the flower hunt so watch for notices about that coming up soon.

- Grace Lindsay of Lower Morrison Street (LoMo)