A Quick Look at Kenilworth

A quick photo trip today.  I intend to keep posting at least every other day, but currently your author feels a bit under the weather.  Digging back through some pictures from the Mid-Atlantic trip of last July, I found a few pictures to tide us over in the meantime.  They were taken at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, one of the least visited and definitely most under-appreciated NPS sites in the Washington, D.C. area.  Not much time was spent there, mainly because it was 109 degrees that day, with humidity to boot.  Still, I figured it would be a shame not to at least take a passing glance at the park, as I was in the area.  While it is well worth a visit, it can be difficult to find, and is in a rather rough area that might scare the more timid away (parking is secure, so don't let that stop you).

The park and gardens is dedicated to the propagation and study of aquatic plants and ecosystems.  Plants from around the world can be found here, but the park is interested in keeping up a stock of native North American vegetation.  The gardens were built on the floodplain of the Anacostia river, a tributary of the Potomac, which had historically been heavily polluted and becoming something of a cesspool.  The landward portions of the park became the gardens, which would help in filtering the river water to some degree and serve as a plant bank and research garden.  The floodplains and marshes closer to the river, which I did not brave the heat to see, are the last remaining vestiges of tidal marsh in the D.C. region.  Apparently, the best way to see the entire park is to arrive by canoe with the oncoming tide, fool around, and leave with the departing tide later in the day.  

The gardens are certainly lovely, and I can only imagine what the marsh would be like.  

The flowers were not even at their peak, but were certainly exquisite.

Aside from the obvious benefit this place brings to all sorts of birds, the place also teems with insect life, the majority of which is more than happy to assist in controlling mosquitoes.

All in all, a lovely place to visit, and a nice way to see a major city from its natural roots.  Like much of the eastern side of the capital, this park does not really receive much attention, mainly because it is so far off the beaten path.