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City Gardens

Did you know that the City of College Park has two Community Gardens that residents may rent out?  Learn more about our Community Gardens here.

The City also has a Permaculture Garden that is maintained by the City’s Committee for a Better Environment.  Permaculture gardens are a great way to care for the earth, with perennial plants that are low maintenance and provide healthy fruits to eat.  To learn more about the City’s Permaculture Garden, click here.

Rain Gardens

Rain gardens are an excellent way to reduce stormwater runoff and prevent pollutants (like fertilizer, salt, car fluids, or pesticides) from going into our local streams causing harm to fish and other aquatic animals.  Rain gardens capture runoff and allow it to slowly soak into the ground with layers of soil and plants naturally filtering and removing pollutants. 

Did you know a rain garden can absorb 14 times more rainwater than a lawn? For more information including how to get started, check out the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Prince George’s County Rain Check Rebate website with information on rain gardens.

Rain Barrels 

The City offers 50-gallon rain barrels for $80.  Once installed, Prince George’s County residents can apply for a Rain Check Rebate, off-setting most of the cost!

Rain barrels are a great way to capture rain water on-site. In the spring, and summer, outdoor watering accounts for a large percentage of water consumption. By having a rain barrel and storing rainfall, you’ll have water for outdoor watering needs.

Be sure to check out the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Prince George’s County Rain Check Rebate website with information, including how to get a rebate for the purchase of rain barrels.

TREES

North College Park Neighborhood Trees

Click Here for information about the City’s tree programs, planting trees and more information.

GARDENING & LANDSCAPING TIPS

Need tree or gardening help or advice?  Reach out to the City’s Tree and Landscape Board or the Committee for a Better Environment for tips, tricks and ways to help grow your trees and yard. 

To help residents, they’ve produced several brochures to help on landscape-related topics for City residents including: 

  • How to Grow a Healthy Lawn
  • Grass Clippings - Let ’Em Lay!
  • How to Prune Trees
  • How to Plant Trees
  • From Garbage to Garden: It’s Compost Time!
  • How to Control Bamboo
  • Suggested Landscaping Plants and Trees

 

Community Garden Plots - flowers

UPDATED 3/14/2023 - deliveries started 

Gardening Materials

Click here to schedule a delivery

  • Hours for compost yard are  Monday - Friday from 8:00 - 11:30 am and 1:00 – 3:00 pm.
  • Customers can shovel their own product, or DPW will load trucks or trailers.  
  • Deliveries begin in March and run through late October. 

 
Compost and wood mulch are excellent and eco-friendly ways to help your gardens grow.  Both products are offered by the City and are made from organic materials (yard waste like leaves and grass). Residents and non-residents can purchase non-chemically treated compost and wood mulch from the City. 

For more information regarding compost, including how to purchase, use or even make it, please click here to read the City’s Compost Guide.

Wood Mulch

Wood mulch is made from natural wood waste collected in the City such as branches, tree stumps, sticks, shrubs, and logs. An industrial grinding machine is rented to process the wood into shredded mulch. When using it as the top layer of your planting beds, wood mulch helps to conserve soil moisture and inhibit weed growth.

How much is the City’s wood mulch and how do I purchase it?
The City’s wood mulch costs $12.00 per cubic yard including tax.  Anyone (residents or non-residents) can purchase some by contacting the City’s Department of Public Works during business hours. 

We accept cash, check and credit card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover). 

Interested in purchasing for your business or organization?  Contact the Department of Public Works for further information.

  1. Delivery
  2. Pickup
  1. Delivery

DELIVERIES:
Click here to schedule a delivery

  • Hours for compost yard are:  Monday - Friday from 8:00 - 11:30 am and 1:00 – 3:00 pm.
  • Customers can shovel their own product, or DPW will load trucks or trailers.  
  • Deliveries begin in March and run through late October. 

Deliveries begin in March and run through late October.

DPW can deliver compost and wood mulch for a fee to your home, or community garden depending on the location. Our trucks hold 6-cubic yards, and there is a minimum of three cubic yards for delivery to non-College Park addresses.

Delivery FeesDelivery Requirements
  • College Park locations are $20.00 per delivery; minimum 1 cubic yard.
  • Adelphi, Beltsville, Berwyn Heights, Greenbelt, New Carrollton, Riverdale and University Park are $60.00 per delivery; min. 3 cubic yards.
  • Bladensburg, Brentwood, Colmar Manor, Cottage City, Glenn Dale, Hyattsville, Landover, Lanham, and Mt. Rainier are $70.00 per delivery; min. 3 cubic yards.
  • Bethesda, Bowie, Burtonsville, Capital Heights, Chevy Chase, Kensington, Laurel, Largo, Silver Spring, Takoma Park and Wheaton are $80.00 per delivery; min. 3 cubic yards.
  • Cabin John, Columbia, District Heights, Olney, Oxen Hill, Rockville, Savage, Suitland, Upper Marlboro, and Washington, DC are $100.00 per delivery; min. 3 cubic yards.
  • Please make sure that there are no low hanging wires or tree limbs for where you want the City to unload the material.  The City’s trucks are 13 feet tall and the truck bed will rise 20 feet to unload the material.
  • Delivery areas need to be at least 11 feet wide to accommodate our delivery trucks.
  • Materials cannot be unloaded in the street or right-of-way.
  • You must have a paved/concrete/gravel/compacted surface that the truck driver can access to unload the material.
  • Drivers cannot drive over curbs and trucks cannot drive on grass.

FYI

You don’t have to be home for the delivery, but if you have a preferred location for materials to be unloaded, please try to clearly mark the area where you want the delivery to be made (using tarp, chalk, buckets, etc.).  Otherwise, the driver will attempt to unload materials as far back in  your driveway as possible.

Our drivers make the best attempt to meet your delivery request, but overhead utility lines, tree limbs, or other obstructions may make it difficult for the driver to unload materials in an exact location. Your flexibility is appreciated.

We are not able to offer you a time frame for delivery. Deliveries are generally made between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. We can give you a courtesy call to tell you that we are on the way. If you need to reschedule your delivery, please give notice at least one business day in advance. 

  1. Pickup

Customers can shovel their own product, or DPW will load open bodied trucks or trailers from 8:00 - 11:30 am and 1:00 – 3:00 pm Monday - Friday. 

Bring your open-bed pickup truck or trailer during business hours and material can be loaded in your vehicle for you. Typically, trucks with a four foot bed can hold half a cubic yard, a six foot bed can hold one cubic yard, and an eight foot bed can hold two cubic yards.

Don’t have a truck? Bring a shovel and your own containers (bins, buckets, bags, etc.) and be prepared to load your containers yourself. It is advisable not to use plastic bags because compost and wood mulch are heavy and can easily tear plastic trash bags. Five-gallon buckets, or other rigid containers are a good option.

We sell in quarter cubic yard increments. The following are examples of some common measurements :

  • One cubic yard is roughly 3 feet (width) x 3 feet (length) x 3 feet (depth) - costs $12
  • A 1/2 cubic yard is equal to approximately 100-gallons (twenty 5-gallon buckets or 6 lawn and leaf bags filled half full) - costs $6
  • A 1/4 cubic yard is equal to approximately 50-gallons (ten 5-gallon buckets or 3 lawn and leaf bags filled half full) - costs $3


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