GREAT TREES OF ASHLAND
PLANT 150 is sponsoring the GREAT TREES OF ASHLAND to honor the trees that make the Center of the Universe such a special place. Recognize the trees that have already made a difference in your life and hometown. No doubt there are many very interesting stories and personal arboreal anecdotes among Ashlanders of all ages!
Take some time to think of a tree (still living or not) that has been important to you, your life or your relationships here. Tell us why a particular tree means what it does to you – your tale can be trivial or extraordinary, funny or sad, frustrated or affectionate - any topic that reveals a connection to Ashland’s trees!
Share your fondest memory involving a tree, showcase a unique tree in Ashland, show us your tree house, and share your favorite pictures!
PLANT150 will compile all stories and display them in the Exhibition Hall at the Grand Celebration on October 18, 2008.
Don’t forget to upload photos of the fabled tree!
You may submit your story, name, tree’s location and any pictures to: Lorie@townhound.com or mail your submission to PLANT150 - Great Trees of Ashland PO Box 1600 Ashland, VA 23005.
Submission from
Meriwether Gilmore.
White
Oak beside the Hanover Club's house, behind the Feed Store.
In
front of the Arts and Activities Building, beside the sidewalk, there used
to be a double line of old red maples. In the 1970s (I think it was the 70s,
might have been the 80s), Dr. John McClurkin noticed the trees were in
decline and suggested planting young red maple seedlings between the old
ones. This was done, and at the time, the young trees looked almost silly
they were so small. Soon, however, the old trees were dying off, the young
ones coming on in promise. It looks to me like all of the old maples that
grew along that sidewalk when my family moved to Ashland in 1972 are now
gone, and I suspect that several of the medium-sized maples that grow there
now are those that were planted at Dr. McClurkin's suggestion (in addition
to a couple that look like they were planted later as larger trees). I like
this story because it shows how important it is to always have young trees
"coming on in promise" to replace old ones. And while I'm telling plant
stories, I'd love to get these thoughts into the "Ashland plant history"
record. Ashland used to be really rich in a wildflower called Virginia
meadow beauty (Rhexia virginica).It likes moisture and used to grow in all
our ditches. It still grows in a few ditches and low spots, where it blooms
in July, but most of the places where it grew have been drained and its
habitats "improved" with sidewalks. Also, before the development of Slash
Cottage, that area of Ashland was FILLED with mountain laurel, many of them
huge. Highbush blueberries and large expanses of Iris cristata (a small
native iris) grew there, too. Submitted by Nancy Ross Hugo