I was driving around DC today, the upper half of Georgia Ave, and I noted a ton of local community gardens. I had to stop and take in the splendor and pride of all the local community gardens. I looked around and started to think of other parts could benefit from similar gardens.
When I got back to the office I did a quick search on the internet and found a great site called Garden Rant. The site is dedicated to some DC community gardens and is a wealth of information. Pictures, posts, and comment sections allow a black thumb to turn into a green thumb in weeks.
I think it’s a great idea for developers or community residents to try and build a garden wherever space will permit. The garden increases community spirit creates a place for community members to come together and helps turn otherwise vacant lots into something special.
Do you know of any great urban gardens around DC? Do you know any tricks to getting one started? Let us know.

The Consumerist just came out its ‘Golden Poop’ award for 2008 and the winner is Countrywide, now owned by Bank of America. Wow, having worked so closely with Country Wide I can’t say I am shocked, but is the award merited?

Ok, I am the first to admit that Countrywide’s practices could be considered improper, but they weren’t alone in slim dealings. It seems like Countrywide is playing the scapegoat here in a game of finger pointing. Saying Country Wide is the worst company in the world for the current mortgage problems is like saying car companies are responsible for global warming.

I agree there is a link between the crisis and Countrywide, but they can’t be held solely responsible. Countrywide is nothing more than a service provider, how someone uses those serves is at the desecration of the service user.

Am I wrong with interpretation of this award? Do you have your own opinion on Country Wide? Do you think they deserve this award or not?

The market is a great and terrible thing. It can rise and fall like the tides of the ocean. It cannot however stand for an overvalued market for too long. The very nature of the market demands that perceived value and actual value have to meet for the market to have symmetry.

I got a chuckle from the comic printed here but I had to admit, it made me think. We have been lucky here in DC, housing prices remained constant during the rise and after the fall, but the burbs’ is a much different story.

A short trip down 95 you run into towns like Woodbridge and Dumfries that have been crushed by the perceived value of the home returning to the actual value of the home. There were many causes for the inflated market, but only one reason it ever comes back down… reality.

Have you been watching homes return to their pre-bubble prices? Working in the DC market it is tough to gauge the drop in prices; but do you think they are falling below pre-bubble prices or are they just returning to their proper value?