New rules could put community gardens on Tysons rooftops, but if you have a green thumb and can’t wait that long, there are two community gardens in the area where you can start planting.

One is in the back corner of Lewinsville Park (1659 Chain Bridge Road) in McLean and the other is at Nottoway Park (9537 Courthouse Road) in Vienna.

To rent a garden plot in Fairfax, you must be a resident of the county with a valid mailing address and email address. Residents can sign up for a waitlist for multiple parks, but only one plot is permitted per household.

The annual rental cost of most garden plots is $130, which includes access to a shared water supply.

Dick Black has been gardening at Lewinsville Park for around eight years after retiring.

“It’s a lot of work, but I consider it a workout,” said Black. “I’ll come out [and garden] instead of going for a run.”

Black grows tomatoes, arugula and other vegetables to give to neighbors or for his wife to take to work.

For those planning to get started, Black reiterated that growing a garden is a commitment. Locals should make sure it’s something they’re willing to put the sweat and time into. But if they decide that they are, Black said growing a garden is an extremely fulfilling experience.

“I still get joy after seven or eight years,” Black said. “[It’s about] going in with the right attitude.”

There is currently a waitlist for garden plots, though new regulations could soon open up more spaces throughout the county. The regulations adopted by the Board of Supervisors on June 25 allow community gardens in a wider variety of residential, commercial and industrial properties than previously allowed.

According to the Fairfax County website:

Previously, the county’s zoning rules limited community gardens to planned residential communities like Burke or Reston. These gardens now are allowed without restriction in open spaces as long as they are under two acres, and they aren’t the principal use on a property… Now, fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers and plants can be grown from the rooftops of office high-rises in Tysons to opens spaces at houses of worship to the common areas of suburban homeowners associations.

Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in McLean. Reach the office at 703-790-9090.

On the last day of school, my family got invited to an awesome block party put on by 4 neighbors on a cul-de-sac in Vienna.

They had bounce houses, food trucks, music and everyone had an awesome time. The adults got to talk, be social and have beer while the kids got to run around and play for hours like I remember doing in my own childhood. The road was blocked off officially by white and orange barricades. It was a great afternoon.

With just a little paperwork you can throw a block party like that one and really get to know your neighbors, or hang out with your friends and help create memories for your family.

Temporary use permits/applications are required whenever you want to block part of a road. Here are some rules and helpful links to get you started:

Town of Vienna

• Requires an application with at least 21 days in advance of the event.
• Requires a signed petition by 100% of the affected neighbors.
• Event must conclude by 11 p.m.
• Download the full application here.

Vienna, Oakton and McLean (Fairfax County)

• Requires a “Temporary Special Permit.”
• Must be submitted at least 6 weeks in advance of the event date.
• A detailed list of where, what, who, when and how.
• Download the full application here.

Falls Church City

• Requires an application at least 10 business days in advance of the event date.
• Will only be granted a 4 hour window for the party.
• Requires a notice/invitation be sent to any resident on the block impacted at least 7 days in advance of the event.
• Download the full application here.

Cookie Baking in Space — “DoubleTree by Hilton… is partnering with Zero G Kitchen, a company creating appliances for microgravity use in long-duration space flights, and NanoRacks, a provider of commercial access to space,… are using a prototype oven designed for long-duration space flight to bake a cookie in space later this year on a date to be determined.” [Washington Business Journal]

New State Laws Take Effect Today — A new set of laws — like raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products and allowing certain types of CBD oil use in schools — take effect today (July 1). [Inside NoVa]

Small Fire Broke Out at Vienna Home — On Saturday morning, firefighters extinguished a small basement fire at a home in the 9800 block of Bridleridge Court in Vienna. The fire was caused by an electrical event within a circuit board for the electronic air cleaner. The fire caused about $500 worth of damage. [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue/Twitter]

WeWork Expands Tysons Presence — “WeWork inked a deal Thursday to expand its presence in Lerner Enterprises’ trophy office building to 154,025 square feet, bringing the 17-story, 476,000-square-foot tower to 100% occupancy roughly three and a half years after it delivered.” [Washington Business Journal]

The History of Tysons — The first part of this series gives an overview of Tysons transformed from a farming community into a developing city. [Greater Greater Washington]

Local Real Estate Developer Behind Bars — “Todd Hitt, the CEO of Kiddar Capital, a Falls Church asset management firm, will serve a 6 1/2 year prison sentence for securities fraud.” [Reston Now]

Water, Water Everywhere — “Fairfax Water, the utility provider of drinking water for the Town of Vienna, has released a report on how clean the water was in 2018.” [Vienna Patch]

After an eight-hour-long search last week, Vienna police tracked down and arrested a man in connection with several crimes around the Town of Vienna, including assault, fraud and burglary.

It all started shortly after midnight last Monday (June 17) when police said a 27-year-old man of no fixed residence tried to pay a cab driver, who had dropped him off in front of the Wolftrap Hotel (430 W. Maple Avenue), with multiple credit cards that were all declined.

“The man began to walk away, and when the cab driver confronted him regarding the payment, the man threatened him with a knife,” according to police. “The man then ran off behind the hotel.”

About four hours later, police said that the man was caught trying to get into a home in the 300 block of Nutley Street and ran off. The resident of the home went out to look for the man, found him and recognized him as an acquaintance, according to police.

When the resident told the man to leave the property, the man threatened the resident with a knife and then ran away, police said.

Shortly before 8:30 a.m., a different resident at a home in the 200 block of Paris Court SW spotted the man on her deck while checking her home’s security cameras.

“Officers located the man and found he was the same person involved in the incidents that had occurred earlier,” according to police.

By that point, the police had warrants charging assault with a weapon, defrauding a cab driver, burglary with a weapon and assault. Once they found the man, police determined that he was also wanted in Fairfax County on warrants charging probation violation and failure to appear in court.

After he was arrested, “the man began complaining that he did not feel well and needed medical attention,” according to police. He was taken to a nearby hospital for an evaluation and, once the hospital staff cleared him, to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.

But that’s not all.

While police were searching for the man, police said they stumbled across several bags of his belongings in the backyard of a home in the 100 block of Mendon Lane SW.

“The resident advised the bags did not belong to him, and he wanted them removed,” according to police. “Officers inventoried the property and found that in addition to personal belongings, the bags contained narcotics and drug paraphernalia.”

Photo via Facebook

As new developments crop up around Vienna, even the Money and King Funeral Home at 171 W. Maple Avenue — Vienna’s oldest business — isn’t immune to change.

The funeral home was founded in 1881 — the same year President Garfield was assassinated and a gunfight took place at the O.K Corral. From then until earlier this year, the business was family owned. But when the last of that family line turned 80 this spring, the business was passed on to others who had worked closely with the family over years.

But President and General Manager Robert Carmical, who has worked at the funeral home since 1994, says that while some things have evolved over time, the service hasn’t changed.

“We’re here to help,” said Carmical. “The [work we do] is in the little things, like printing booklets and arranging the music. It’s a celebration of this person’s life.”

Over time, Carmical said there’s been some evolutions in the funeral industry. Most funerals were traditionally held in homes or in churches, but with the slow erosion of church connections, Carmical said businesses like his are seeing more people asking to hold the services at the funeral home. Accordingly, the old church-style pews have been replaced by chairs.

He also said cremation has become more popular as an alternative to burial.

Carmical’s favorite thing about funerals is learning about people.

“You learn things about people, like their hobbies,” said Carmical. “These are things some people don’t know about [their friends], like they collected stamps or toys, or how everyone has a sweet tooth.”

Ashley Hopko contributed to this story

Cong Wang really likes bubble tea, and he opened his new Gem Tea at 155 W. Maple Avenue to share that passion with more people.

One of the big things Wang says drives people away from bubble tea is the idea of inflexibility. At Gem Tea, Wang says customers can feel free to adjust the tea as they like, offering non-dairy milk options and a wide variety of fruit flavors.

If enough people request something, Wang said he’s open to adding things to the menu. For instance, yesterday someone came in asking for a protein powder to be added to his tea, so Wang is looking into how to make that work.

The restaurant is open seven days a week, opening at 11 a.m. and closing between 8-9 p.m. The quick-service restaurant had a soft opening on May 16, but held its grand opening on June 1.

Wang said Gem Tea isn’t part of a chain. He’s from Vienna and just wanted to open a tea place in his neighborhood.

As the summer heat wave continues to sizzle this week, locals may be looking for a glass or a pint or a mug of beer.

Here are some breweries and distilleries around the Tysons area for when you want to buy local while wetting your whistle.

• Sweetwater Tavern (3066 Gate House Plaza): One of the three Sweetwater Tavern microbreweries is located in Merrifield. Visitors can find hand-crafted brews and lunch and dinner menus.
• Settle Down Easy Brewing Co. (2822 Fallfax Drive): This Falls Church Nano brewery, which brews beers from IPAs to kolschs, has a taco stand inside and indoor and outdoor seating.
• Audacious Aleworks Brewery and Taproom (110 E. Fairfax Street): Near downtown Falls Church, the small craft brewery specializes in small batch ales, and the taproom has up to 20 beers on tap at any given time along with free popcorn and board games.
• Caboose Brewing Company (Merrifield and Vienna): The 15-barrel-brewhouse is behind both Caboose Commons in Merrifield (2918 Eskridge Road) and Caboose Tavern in Vienna (520 Mill Street NE). Caboose Commons includes a coffeehouse and beer garden behind the Mosaic District, while Caboose Tavern is a brewpub off of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail.
• Mad Fox Brewing Company (444 W. Broad Street): Inspired by Euro gastro brews, Mad Fox Brewing in Falls Church has a brewery and restaurant.
• Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant (7861 Tysons Corner Center): Located in Tysons Corner Center, the Gordon Biersch restaurant brews its beers on site and even offers a view of its brewing facilities and brewery tours.

While not a brewery, the Tysons Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike) has more than 100 American craft beers and live music until 2 a.m. daily.

If beer isn’t your thing, the Falls Church Distillers (442 S. Washington Street, Suite A) produces several small-batch spirits including vodkas, gins, rums and whiskeys. In addition to the distillery, there’s a restaurant that serves up Italian fare and a bar.

Hair studio Sundown and Rise Up is coming to the former space of the Maple Avenue Market in the Town of Vienna.

Sundown and Rise Up will offer haircuts, blow-drys, coloring, highlights and balayage services, according to its website.

From the website:

Sundown & Rise Up represents a new emergence into a truly one of kind dynamic salon work space centered upon hair, creativity, freedom, community, music and positive vibrations. Sundown & Rise Up strives to provide Vienna and the neighboring communities a new kind of hair salon experience.

The Maple Avenue Market closed in February after nearly 10 years in downtown Vienna.

The studio is set to open “very early July 2019” at 128 E. Maple Avenue according to an Instagram post by the owner of the studio.

The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.

We’ve scoured the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!

Tuesday (June 25)

• Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo — 7-10 p.m. at Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Road) — Artists Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo — known for their songs like “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” and “Love is a Battlefield” — are performing at Wolf Trap as part of a 40th anniversary tour. Tickets are $35 with gates opening at 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday (June 26)

• My Neighbor Totoro — 7-9 p.m. at Angelika Film Center & Café at Mosaic (2911 District Avenue) — Studio Ghibli classic My Neighbor Totoro will be on the big screen in the Mosaic District on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Thursday at 11 a.m. Tickets are $14.50.

Thursday (June 27)

• Diana Ross at Wolf Trap — 8-11 p.m. at Wolf Trap (1551 Trap Road) — Motown artist Diana Ross — the singer for classics like “I’m Coming Out” and “Stop! In the Name of Love” — will be performing at Wolf Trap this Thursday. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 for lawn seating.

Friday (June 28)

• Summer Concert with Tauren Wells — 6:30-8 p.m. at Tysons Corner Center (1961 Chain Bridge Road) — WGTS 91.9’s concert series continues with Grammy-nominated artist Tauren Wells. The concert is free at The Plaza (near Lord & Taylor) on Friday. Space is first-come, first-served and attendees are invited to bring their own chair or blanket.
• Macbeth Premiere — 8-8:30 at 1st Stage (1524 Spring Hill Road) — The 1st Stage Theater will host a production of The Scottish Play by Britches and Hose Theatre Company. The play premieres on Friday, but will have showings at 8 p.m. on Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Saturday (June 29)

• Yoga at Tysons Biergarten — 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Tysons Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike) — An hourlong, all-levels yoga event will be held inside the beer hall of Tysons Biergarten. Online tickets are $25 and walk-in tickets are $30. Tickets include a chip for a beverage after the class.
• Junior Ranger Day — 12-3 p.m. at Wolf Trap (1551 Trap Road) — Children ages 5-12 are invited out to an event at Wolf Trap where they can be a ranger for a day, engaging in scavenger hunts and various ranger programs.
• Feast for Fireworks Tasting Event — 12-4 p.m. at Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market (6655 Old Dominion Drive) — Balducci’s has prepared an early Independence Day celebration. The market is planning to include a grill event and a selection of “summer essentials” for upcoming barbecues.
• Back to the ’90s: Incubus Tribute — 7 p.m. at Jammin’ Java (227 E. Maple Avenue) — Jammin’ Java is hosting a ’90s throwback evening with a celebration of Incubus on the 20th anniversary of the band. The evening will feature Incubus tributes from other bands. Tickets are $15 for general admission.

Photo via Wolf Trap/Facebook

Raglan Road Park between Tysons and Vienna just got a little bigger.

The Fairfax County Park Authority added another acre to the park by buying one acre at 8608 Raglan Road, according to a Fairfax County press release last Wednesday (June 19).

The additional land is meant “to help meet the future recreation needs of the growing Tysons area,” according to the county.

Raglan Road Park, a forested area adjacent to the Old Courthouse Spring Branch Stream Valley, has long been slated for more recreational facilities, and the recent opening of the new Vesper Trail signaled that more amenities might be on the way.

Photo via Facebook