The Yards Park: Tending a Popular Green Oasis in the Bustling Urban Landscape

Landscaping isn’t just a nice addition to The Yards Park — it’s a key reason close to 100,000 people a year visit. 

They’re there for the outdoors.

Located along the banks of the Anacostia River in southeast D.C., The Yards Park is a 5.5-acre public park designed to be the centerpiece of the mixed-use project known as The Yards.

It’s an outdoor escape for neighborhood apartment dwellers, families and brunch goers who head to the park for fresh air, waterfront views, dancing fountains and a multitude of popular public events.

“It's one of our premiere park spaces,” says Jonathan Greene, manager of Public Realm Operations for the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District, which oversees the park.  “It’s a safe haven, not just a green space to pass through with walking paths, but a place to stop and enjoy the surrounding environment."

“Landscaping there is very important,” he says, “especially during the summer.”

The Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District partners with Level Green Landscaping to keep the popular park‘s crucial landscaping healthy, thriving and appealing.

Here’s a look at what the expansive work entails.

Meet the Park 

This modern urban park at 355 Water Street SE, Washington, DC, is an anchor of the redeveloped Capitol Riverfront neighborhood, in an area that was once an annex to the Washington Navy Yard, several blocks east of Nationals Ballpark.

The development turned a former industrial space into a slice of welcome greenery in the city. 

“The park was brought in as one of the main refuges of the neighborhood when it was still kind of raw,” Greene says. “The neighborhood is about 75 percent built out now and is still growing, with about 17,000 people living here.

“The park became a refuge from the dense pavement and heavy concrete surfaces that come with an urban environment like DC,” he says. “A 5K might pass through. Groups rent the space, and put chairs out. There are nice shade trees and seating in the shade where people read books or bring their lunch out to enjoy.”

A big goal: get people to the water. 

“There were decades-long issues with access to the waterfront,” Greene says. “People couldn’t enjoy the river space without paying top dollar for riverfront living.”

Now, water plays a key role here. In addition to access to the Anacostia River, the park features an impressive fountain and fun water features for splashing around in during the summer. 

While it’s a place to seek tranquility in nature, it also often bustles with thousands of people at weekly concerts and music festivals.

Landscape Maintenance with a Proactive Approach 

“It needs to look great all the time, especially on weekends,” says James Kole, branch manager of Level Green Landscaping’s DC branch. “If it’s nice weather, lots of people are there. Plus there’s a community of people who live right there who use the park.”

The Level Green crew has a lot to tackle here, from aesthetics to safety.

Crews cover the property weekly, mowing, trimming, weeding, edging, pruning, deadheading, always on the lookout for potential safety issues.

No tree limbs hanging down to snag pedestrians. No grasses flopping over onto walkways. No stray sticks littering the lawn.

A host of river birch and honey locust trees means lots of fallen branches to pick up, Kole says. Barberry shrubs are vigorous and have to be kept in check.

“We stay on top of all those details like trash, weeds, and fallen branches,” Kole says. 

That’s what Greene wants to hear.

“I’m a stickler for the details,” Greene says. “You can take great care of the turf but if you leave grass clippings behind or broken branches around, people notice, especially at a place like Yards Park that has such a big following.”

“When I walk through and see the Level Green team at work, it’s obvious they’re taking the extra initiative to pick up trash even if it’s not in the area where they’re working.”

All this extensive maintenance has to happen without interfering with visitors’ enjoyment of the park, Kole says.

“We need to get there early, before people show up, so crews arrive first thing at 7:30 or 8 am,” he says. 

Communication is Key

“The thing I appreciate most is their communication,” Greene says. “From all levels they’re very in touch, making sure we understand the work that’s being done, letting us know what’s critical and what can be deferred a bit so we don’t deplete our budget on one project.”

When a series of storms hit a few weeks ago and downed a tree, Level Green arranged emergency removal quickly, he says. 

When there’s a need, Kole says, they’re on it. 

“Most of our DC crews have to go right by there so if they call us and need something we can be there fast,” Kole says. 

Kole keeps in frequent contact with Greene, while the Level Green account manager on the job communicates often with the full-time Yards Park director who works on site. 

Greene says while the parks director handles larger responsibilities like maintenance of the 66,000-gallon fountain and the park’s extensive lighting system, Level Green handles the landscape maintenance crucial to keeping the park looking great. 
 
“Having Level Green here alleviates the tedious landscaping work so he can focus on the other things in the park,” Greene says. “The park is coming up on its 20th year, which means we have some park rehab plans. He’s able to dive deep into that planning because of the great work Level Green does.”

A Key Feature: Glorious Green Grass

 “A highlight of the park is our turfed areas, for sure,” Greene says. “The lawn is definitely popular with day care and summer camps and with people who just want to lay out in the sun on a picnic blanket in the middle of the day.”

Green, healthy grass with few weeds is the goal for a well-used site like Yards Park, where lots of fun happens outside.

Level Green brings a detailed turf care strategy to keep the popular park lawn healthy and thriving, with targeted visits for fertilizing and weed control throughout the year.

Crews visit twice in the spring — first in March or April to apply fertilizer, pre-emergent crabgrass killer, and post-emergent broadleaf weed killer to target weeds like dandelion and clover.

A second visit in May or June repeats the process. Crews visit a third time in July or August to spot spray only for any broadleaf weeds that have popped up. Spot spray is better for the environment, but still targets weeds.

Then, a final round of fertilizer goes down in October or November to help the expansive Yards Park turf store nutrients for the winter and emerge strong and healthy in the spring. 

Beyond that, aeration and overseeding ensures the healthy roots and thick turf needed for lawns that impress.

Tackling Irrigation Challenges 

All that lawn doesn’t thrive without irrigation, and that’s been one of the challenges in the past year.

“It’s an aging irrigation system that needs repair,” Kole says. “Irrigation systems have a lifespan. There are lots of breaks and tree root problems with this one.

“Most of their system is half inch drip line,” he says. “It needs a lot more repair as it ages because the parts wear out faster.”

“This year the relationship was a lot about understanding the condition the park was in, and irrigation is definitely an issue,” Greene says. “The system has aged and has been handled by a lot of different parties over the years. There were a lot of irrigation fixes made on the spot this summer.”

Little fixes won’t last forever, Kole says. 

“Ultimately, we need to make the repairs to keep the system functioning,” he says, “but as it ages out, it will soon be time to start considering full replacement.”

Continuing a Successful Partnership 

“We’re still in the first year, but we’re definitely happy with the work so far,” Greene says. “They’ve been able to pivot and do an extra project if we need it. And we’re expanding their reach beyond the park to include a series of planters along a couple main corridors in the neighborhood, planting flowers and watering them. So the scope is growing."

”We appreciate their fair pricing  and communication,” Greene says. “It’s been a very good relationship so far.”

Looking to take your commercial property to the next level? Contact us today and see how Level Green Landscaping can help.