Sunday, January 21, 2024

What a Surprise!

New Parkway Trees! 

More than twenty years since the City's Street Tree Division cut down the tree that used to grow in the middle of the parkway in front of my house, siting damage to the sidewalk (it was their tree to cut and they repaved the sidewalk), and just under one year since M and I landscaped it with pebbles and pavers, the City planted, not one, but two trees in the parkway on Friday!  Not just in front of my house, but, several other parkways, up and down the block, unless they already had trees or had been cemented over!  Not a word of notice in advance that they were planning to do this, of course!  I woke up on Friday morning to the sound of machinery and, at first, I thought it was my next door neighbor (he's in the process of digging out the tree stump in front of his house), but, then, I looked out the front window and there was a crew of City workers, busily planting new trees!  Afterwards, they watered the trees, putting the water into the green bags that are attached to the trees.  They brought their own water in a tank that was attached to a piece of machinery.  

I don't know for sure, but, I think the tree closest to the driveway (pictured above), with the long thin leaves, might be Australian Willow (Geijera parviflora).  They are drought tolerant, fire resistant, and have non-invasive roots. They have small cream colored flowers that are attractive to bees.  


Flowering Pear

The second tree (pictured above) is a flowering pear/ornamental pear (probably Pyrus calleryana).  These trees have beautiful white flowers in the spring.  My little tree had one bunch of flowers on on of the lower branches: 


Flowering Pear Blossoms

They planted each tree between two pavers and, while I hadn't planned on having trees in the parkway, I think the end results look okay.  There are four pavers between the two trees and one paver at each end.

M was very surprised to see the trees in place when he came over in the evening to tend to the garden.  He likes the Australian Willow, but, isn't too thrilled about the flowering/ornamental pear.  I'm fine with both trees.   I hope the trees will grow and provide some shade in the summer.

I am grateful for:

- The City planting two trees in my parkway, at long last!
- The parkway finally looks cared for, with the trees, pavers, and pebbles
- M's help with the garden
- A nice chat with former neighbor T
- Being able to video chat with my daughter

Friday's joyful activities included having trees planted in my parkway and tending to the rest of the garden with M.

Do you have a parkway in front of your house?  If so, do you have any trees planted there?  

18 comments:

  1. I think it's wonderful that your City has planted two trees in front of your house and along the street and yours are spaced so well. I hope they grow and do well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Eileen; I wish they had done it earlier, but, I suppose it was a matter of availability of resources and better late than never! We are getting some rain, so, they are getting well watered, right now! Hopefully, they'll be well established by the time summer arrives.

      Delete
  2. What a nice surprise. Are these fast growing trees?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are supposed to have moderate rates of growth. I suppose it will take them about 3 or 4 years to get to any size.

      Delete
  3. I am glad you are grateful for it. I would be peeved of by not getting any notice....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It would have been nice to have been notified, but, it doesn't bother me that they didn't. :) Technically, the parkway is owned by the City; the homeowners are responsible for maintaining them. I had always wished they would plant another tree to replace the one that they cut.

      Delete
  4. I hope the trees do well, the City seem to have set them in nicely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Bushlady; yes, the City has certain requirements about planting depths and root containment, etc. I would expect their crews to follow those specific requirements. I'm looking forward to seeing them grow. :)

      Delete
  5. The trees will be lovely once established. The city plants them here also, but we do get a choice of about four or five species. Then we are responsible for maintaining them, including watering if needed while young. The one I have was here when I moved here, it's a poplar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm hoping they will grow well. I will water them, although I wasn't told to do so. But, we've had some rain on Saturday and there's more rain in the forecast, so, I won't need to water them right away. Once established, they should not require a lot of water or care.

      Delete
  6. Well that was a neat surprise! It's nice that your city takes pride in doing beautification projects! Can't wait to see them grow here on your blog!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it was a nice surprise! And I'm very happy that they decided to plant some trees in my neighborhood. I shall definitely record their growth on my blog. :)

      Delete
  7. How wonderful! What a nice surprise to wake up to.
    And they did an admirable job of not messing up the gravel.
    I think it looks very nice and will only look better as they settle in.
    Plus some shade from the full sun of the afternoon might help some things in the front garden - maybe? What do you think?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it was a lovely surprise and they did do a good job, leaving most of the gravel in place, didn't they? A little shade for the front garden would be very welcome! Maybe the succulents won't get quite as scorched in the summer! :)

      Delete
  8. Lovely surprise. Here's hoping they thrive! (Not looking too hard at your neighbours...)
    Ella

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, yes, don't look too hard at the neighbors - they have trees already planted in their parkway, so they didn't receive any new trees! :)

      Delete
  9. How lovely they planted new trees.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it was a lovely surprise! I'm hoping they will grow well. :)

      Delete

Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. Your comments are much appreciated. Please comment in English. No Anonymous comments, please. Thank you.