I mentioned in an earlier post that the American elm can be a fast grower under the right conditions.
In 2005, Tree Watch and Trees Atlanta planted a line of American elms along Atlantis Avenue, on a low embankment between the parking lot behind Fritti and the street.
Here they are in 2010:
And a year and a half later in Fall 2011:
Three years later in 2014:
In September 2018 (in a photograph taken from the southbound lane of Elizabeth Street):
And here they are today:
When Jeanne and I moved into our Waverly Way home, back in the year 2000, there stood a huge water oak (Quercus nigra) between our house and our neighbor to the east.
Several years later, that oak died, and so our neighbor had to take it down. But it left some acorns behind!
In 2010, you can just see a sapling poking its head out of the bushes, in front of the flowering dogwood:
The next year, it’s making a bit of progress, though it’s hard to pick it out among all the other volunteers.
By 2014, with its root system just the way it wants it, the oak has leapt up.
Here is the tree now, on May 22, 2021. Roughly a decade of growth. It’s more than 60 feet tall. Look to the left. That’s a white oak (Quercus alba) that I myself planted probably five years before that water oak even thought about germinating.
Sixty feet tall in 10-12 years!
Some 80 new and replacement trees.
Around 80 volunteers.
Magnolias, oaks, redbuds, hornbeams, dogwoods, and fruit trees.
Alta Avenue, Austin Avenue, Euclid Avenue, Sinclair Avenue, and the Little 5 Points Center for Arts & Community.
Thank you, Inman Park. Thank you, Trees Atlanta. Thank you, Center for Arts & Community.
On Saturday, March 23, 2019, Trees Atlanta and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper installed the first of two bioswales on Highland Avenue. They had the help of several volunteers from Inman Park, including Jamie Allen, Chuck Young, and Jim Abbot.
Bioswales are landscape elements intended to capture, clean, and infiltrate stormwater on site. Trees Atlanta, in the person of Kelly Ridenhour, and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, represented by Eric Fyfe, received a grant to pilot a simple and inexpensive approach to retrofitting existing street features, such as sidewalk rights-of-way and bump-outs, into bioswales.
Each new vegetated bioswale — at Highland’s intersection with Washita — will be home to one big-flowered silverbell tree (Halesia diptera var. magniflora), together with ground cover including Virginia sweetspire, eastern bluestar, river oats, coneflowers, and more.
Tuesday, March 12, 6:30 p.m.
Tree Ordinance Talk & Information Session at Trees Atlanta’s Kendeda Center in Reynoldstown. The City of Atlanta has begun a critically important process to rewrite our tree protection ordinance. Honestly, I can’t think of anything that will have a bigger longterm impact on our urban forest than this revised ordinance. At this information session, Trees Atlanta will have pizza, explanations, opportunities for you to comment and ask questions, and the like. Here’s more info on the event.
Saturday, March 16, 9:00 a.m.
We’ll be back in the southern half of Springvale Park to continue removing woody invasives. Meet as usual on the corner of Edgewood Avenue and Waverly Way.
Saturday, March 23, 9:00 a.m.
We’ll be installing nifty “bioswales” in two bump-outs on Highland Avenue, at its intersection with Washita. Here’s more info.
Saturday, April 13, 9:00 a.m.
We’ll be mulching trees within the Festival zone. Meeting spot TBD, but probably along Euclid Avenue at Poplar Circle, near the intersection with Hurt Street.
Help remove invasive plants from Inman Park’s crown jewel, emerald-green Springvale Park. This project is best for ages 12 and up, children to be accompanied by an adult. No prior experience is necessary – we’ll provide tools and teach you what to do. Physical activity such as bending, sawing/snipping, and lifting is required. Meet in the park near the corner of Edgewood Avenue and Waverly Way.
Help plant trees in Freedom Park to shade and cool the path, clean our air, reduce stormwater runoff, dampen noise, and provide habitat for critters. No prior experience is necessary — we’ll provide instruction and tools. All ages welcome, though children should be accompanied by an adult. Physical activity is required: digging, bending, lifting, etc. Meet in Freedom Park near the intersection of Sinclair Avenue and Austin Avenue.
Help install plants in new stormwater planters that will soon be constructed along Highland Avenue at the Washita intersection. Check back here later for details.
Help mulch trees in Inman Park to get the neighborhood looking pretty for Festival. No prior experience is necessary — we’ll teach you everything. This activity is best for ages 12 and up, with children to be accompanied by an adult. Physical activity is required: filling and lifting buckets of mulch, walking, etc. The meeting place for this project is TBD, though in past years it’s been along Euclid Avenue at the Poplar Circle section of Freedom Park, near the intersection of Hurt Street and Euclid Avenue.
