Native Plants for the Little Falls Pool
The Little Falls Swim Club is going native! Native plants will soon be replacing the grass along the creek and tennis court entrance. And not only will the new plantings attract butterflies and other pollinators, it will provide stormwater management. The deep roots of the native plants help with water soak into the ground instead of running off into the adjacent Little Falls Branch. (Yes, the concrete-lined channel along the pool property is the Little Falls Branch, the creek that runs from Chevy Chase club to the Potomac.)
Thanks to funding provided by the Montgomery County Water Quality Protection Fund, over 600 native grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees will be installed in the upper parking lot. In addition, the asphalt channel running along the front of the tennis courts will be replaced by a planted rock swale that will slow down run-off from the tennis court exterior and allow it to soak into the ground.
Landscaping plans for Little Falls Swim Club. Unfortunately, the area marked in red cannot be done this year as it is infested with the extremely aggressive and non-native lesser celandine. The lesser celandine has to be completely eradicated before any thing can be planted there.
In 2024, LFWA was pleased to received Montgomery County Watershed Restoration and Outreach Program Grant to tackle the problem of stormwater run-off at the Little Falls Swim club. Work on planting project started in the summer of 2025 and be installed in mid-April 2026.
Landscaping Plan has two areas
The almost 10,000 square foot area adjacent to the clubs upper parking lot is divided into two main sections - Area One, along the creek and Area Two, in front of the tennis courts. A third section was originally planned for native plants, but the plan had to be abandoned for this year as the area was too infested by the non-native invasive lesser celandine to plant. The lesser celandine must be completely eradicated before new plants can be installed, as they will out compete the new plantings. Plants budgeted for this area will be moved to Areas One and Two. A preliminary plant list is HERE. We won’t know until we start to plant what we can actually get.
Area One: As a first step to restoration, the invasive non-native bush honeysuckles will be removed from the area as well as very small patches of lesser celandine and Italian Arum. Once cleared, new trees, shrubs, grasses and perennial flowers are planned with a mulch path meandering through the area. Places for play, quiet contemplation and picnicking are included in the design.
Area Two: A partially buried and broken asphalt channel will be replaced by a planted rock swale in the area in front of the tennis courts. The new swale will slow any run-off and allow it to soak into the ground. In the case of a storm so large that it overwhelms the capacity of the swale, the excess water will be directed into native plantings which will soak up additional rain water.
Before Pictures
The Little Falls Pool Stormwater Management Projects are made possible by grants funded by the Montgomery County Water Quality Protection fund.
