ARLINGTON — For the third year in a row, one of the city of Arlington’s oft-overlooked parks received a touch-up courtesy of their nearby neighbors.
Close to 20 employees of the Windermere Real Estate office in Arlington benefitted from a bright, warm morning on Friday, June 15, as they descended upon Centennial Park on Division Street, just east of the roundabout next to the Public Utility District, to spruce up its greenery.
Ellie Cyr of the Arlington Windermere office explained that Garden Treasures donated almost as many plants as there were volunteers that day, while the city of Arlington itself dropped off what she estimated to be a small truckload of bark.
“We received a number of shrubs and perennials,” Cyr said. “We adopted this park last year, but this is the first year that we’ve planted new plants, rather than just tending to the existing plants through weeding and laying bark.”
The Windermere volunteers did plenty of weeding and bark-laying this year, in addition to “dead-heading” the rhododendron bushes lining the park on both sides of the street.
“You take these wilted blooms off, after it blooms in May, and you’ll get twice as many blooms the next year,” said Katrina Davidson, who marked her 21st year of volunteering for Windermere community service days on June 15.
While Cyr agreed with Arlington Windermere owner Gene Bryson that Centennial Park’s proximity to their office makes it a convenient location for them to perform their annual day of service labors, she also touted the park as a hidden treasure of Arlington.
“A lot of people don’t realize that this is an important park, especially during holidays,” Cyr said. “All the parades line up here. And yet, it’s not all that well-known, even though it’s right in the middle of town.”
“Every year this event gets a little bigger,” said Bryson, who takes pride in its minimal overhead. “We just want to make the city even more beautiful. To that end, we’d have to talk with the city to clear it through them, but I wouldn’t mind installing a playground structure here. It might not seem like there’s room enough for that, but I don’t think most people who drive past this park realize how really big it is.”
Every year since 1984, Windermere offices have dedicated a day of service to joining together so they can complete neighborhood improvement projects.
“Creating vibrant communities is one of the things that inspire the Windermere network to be involved in service projects that make things a little brighter for their neighbors,” Bryson said.
The Arlington Windermere office’s official adoption of Centennial Park last year was intended to show their appreciation to the Arlington community for their support, in turn, for the Windermere office at 210 E. Burke Ave. over the course of the past 20 years.
