30 August 2018 & color @national arboretum
#OTD-ish 30 August 1968 Phil Portlock was on a work assignment when he photographed these tulips at the National Arboretum (Bladensburg Rd & R St, NE). Color photography was a departure for Portlock: he usually worked with black & white film.
Alma Thomas reveled in the multitudes of color at the National Arboretum. Her insistence on the beauty of color was inspired, in part, by what she observed during her many trips to the Arboretum.
In addition to colorful flowers, the National Arboretum also had colorful vegetables. In partnership with the DC Department of Recreation, the Arboretum offered space for 60 children to grow vegetables in their own plots during the summer. On 21 August, during the Garden & Cooking Bake-Off Festival, dozens of children displayed their vegetables and demonstrated their culinary skills using the vegetables from their gardens.
Your comments are welcome below. Did you, family members or neighbors visit the Arboretum? What was your favorite spot? Do you have photographs? Did you participate in the summer garden program? Did you know Sheila Alford and Adonis Alford? They were featured in a 22 August 1968 Evening Star article and photograph about the garden program. You may comment privately here.
Photo courtesy: Phil Portlock, photographer, 1968. Portlock retains copyright of this image.
"Gardners Compete," Evening Star 22 August 1968.
