The city of Chamblee will celebrate Arbor Day on Friday, Feb. 21 at Shallowford Park, 3096 Shallowford Place, Chamblee.There will be a park clean-up and tree planting at 9 a.m. and a proclamation reading at 11 a.m., according to a press release. The city will also give away prunus serotina (black cherry) and viburnum dentatum (arrowwood) trees.
“This year we will be planting black cherry and arrowwood trees at Shallowford Park. The black cherry has showy white flowers each spring that turns into dark fruit in late summer. The arrowwood is valued for its durability and utility, but also its ornamental features such as its white flowers and dark blue fruits,” said Amanda Corr, Chamblee’s arborist.
Staff will be able to tell recipients how to care for their seedling and how to plant it. The trees are provided by Trees Atlanta.
The national Arbor Day celebration is held in April and dates to 1872 when J. Sterling Morton, a journalist and editor of Nebraska’s first newspaper, established Arbor Day in the state of Nebraska. Morton was concerned about the loss of trees cleared for farms and houses and spread information to his fellow pioneers about the benefits of trees in creating windbreaks, providing fuel and building materials and providing shade from the hot prairie sun. The Nebraska State Board of Agriculture accepted a resolution passed by Morton “to set aside one day to plant trees, both forest and fruit.”
Today Arbor Day is celebrated in all 50 states but is celebrated during different months according to the best planting season in each state. In Georgia, the best planting season is from November through February.
Information: www.chambleega.gov or 770-986-5010.
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