One of the beauties of springtime in Northern Virginia is the profusion of mature azaleas that provide gorgeous color to neighborhood yards. We are fortunate in Mason District to have many older homes that have fostered and sustained decades of azalea maturity. The pinks and purples especially pop this year, adding an almost-velvety texture to our community, adding a softer edge to life, if only for a short time, before the heat of summer overtakes.

Trees, shrubs, native plants, and landscaping tips will be highlighted during Green Spring Gardens’ annual Spring Garden Day, to be held next Saturday, May 18, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., at Green Spring Gardens Park, 4601 Green Spring Road, in the Lincolnia area of Mason District. More than 40 vendors, some selling rare and unusual plants, will descend on Green Spring Gardens to fill your spring gardening needs. Come early, and spend a little time enjoying a stroll in the gardens before shopping. Enter the park from Braddock Road, a block north of its intersection with Little River Turnpike. Parking is available on site and at a nearby office park. The historic Manor House also will be open for visitors.

May 18 also is the date for Document Shredding at the Mason District Governmental Center, 6507 Columbia Pike in Annandale. Sponsored by the Fairfax County Solid Waste Management Program and my office, the shredding event will be conducted from 8 a.m. – noon. Up to five medium-size packing boxes of paper per vehicle may be accepted for shredding. These events are only for Fairfax County residents to destroy sensitive material they may have in their home. Sensitive materials such as tax documents, financial records, etc., are accepted, but the program reserves the right to reject business documents and/or items that can damage shredding equipment, such as binders of any type, plastic document covers, metal binder clips, books, computer disks, film or photographs. Junk mail and magazines should be recycled through your regular collection service. Drivers will be directed by staff on site, and drivers must remain in their vehicles, while staff remove boxes and empty paper into rolling carts. Once full, the carts are taken to the on-site shredding truck for cross-cut shredding. Written certification of shredding will not be provided; if you require certification, you should contract individually with a private shredding service provider. For more information and other county shredding dates, log on to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/recycling/shredding.htm.

While you are searching your house for shreddable documents, please keep in mind that a Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection event is happening this Saturday, May 11, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., also at the Mason District Governmental Center. HHW refers to used or leftover contents of consumer products containing materials that may be toxic, ignitable, corrosive, or reactive, and should not be set out for regular trash collection. Log on to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/trash/disphhw.htm for information about accepted materials and handling HHW for disposal. Using these free events can prepare you and your family for an enjoyable, trash-free home by the time summer’s heat and humidity set in.

 Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor, in the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov.