Celebrating Community at Our Final First Flower Friday of the Year at the Franciscan Monastery
One of D.C.’s best kept secrets is tucked away atop a hill in Brookland, but DC Natives let the secret out during our last First Flower Friday of 2025—the most well-attended FFF since we kicked our event series in 2023. We hosted FFF in Ward 5 at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, a special place not only because of its history and architecture, but also because it is home to one million bees thanks to its pollinator meadow, orchard, and gardens.
More than 70 FFF attendees heard from the Monastery’s Senior Farm Manager Farm Tyler Hendon who discussed how he manages and stewards 15 acres on the back side of the impressive property. The Monastery grows about 8,000 to 10,000 pounds of food in its garden each year which is distributed to city partners, particularly those in the area’s high-density food deserts. The planning, general work, and harvesting is a modest effort that is nearly 100% volunteer run. We also learned that the Monastery is home to a 120-year-old greenhouse on site that predates the Civil War and features an outdoor Rosary Portico with a formal rose garden.
In addition to the acres of fauna and flora, the Monastery is home to full-size replicas of the Holy Land’s shrines, including the Tomb of Christ, Ascension and the Monastery Church.
Many attendees remarked that this was their first time at the 126-year-old landmark and we’re happy to know that DC Natives was able to make the community connection. (Keep reading to learn about another event at the Monastery that we partnered on!) [link to other Monastery article here] It was great to see the work the garden is doing to conserve pollinator species, specifically the bees, through their beekeeping activities. And while honeybees aren’t native, we still appreciate what is being done to show the integral connection between the pollinators and the food we all consume. We wouldn’t be able to do it without the help of our smallest unpaid workers. 🐝
During our event, we also heard from Free DC, an organizing movement committed to attaining home rule in Washington, D.C. They discussed how to take action during the government agency and Army Reserves occupation of the District, in addition to explaining the work they do to fight for DC Home Rule.
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention that the Monastery—which is free and open to the public—is currently working on cultivating and producing wine, so stay tuned and make sure to visit whether you missed the event or would like to return. Click here to learn more.
If you attended our last FFF of the season and would like to share some of your fun or insightful takeaways from the beautiful event, email us to share your pics or tag us on Instagram and Facebook.
If you’d like to host a First Flower Friday or have a connection or partnership at a site that would be perfect for our growing spring through fall event series, please let us know at dcnatives.org@gmail.com!