Follow the creekside trail in Dumbarton Park, in Northwest DC and you will come to a set of steps. Climb up to the elegant gate and take in the view across the grounds of Dumbarton Oaks. Many years ago, guests at early spring garden parties would come down to this gate to enjoy the blooming forsythia, a corridor of yellow leading down to the creek. The forsythia still drape the walls, but in summer all is quiet and green.