A future forest: one treecipient’s tale

How Many Trees Can You Plant?
Lynn Fitch with her dogs in her new forest (Whitney Dorer)

By Whitney Dorer

On a quiet and peaceful block in the St. Johns neighborhood, a small forest grows. Last February, treecipient Lynn Fitch planted ten trees with Friends of Trees at her neighborhood planting. Lynn was not new to the idea of planting trees at her property. She purchased the house about three years ago after falling in love with the trees already there, which stood taller than the trees on the rest on the block. A majestic cedar towers into the sky, while a beautiful old chestnut attracts many passersby who also get to enjoy its fruit.

When Lynn heard about the annual Friends of Trees planting in her neighborhood, she was excited to have the opportunity to plant more trees. After much thought, she chose ten different trees, each with a special reason to be a part of the plan.

How Many Trees Can You Plant?
Big cedar shows young trees how to grow healthy and strong (Whitney Dorer)

For the planting strip, Lynn was approved for five trees and chose a Washington Hawthorn for its ability to attract wildlife, a Trident Maple that would look nice with the other maples in the neighborhood,  a Golden Raindrops Crabapple for the nice golden berries that would also attract wildlife, a Glorybower for it’s beautiful scent and blossoms, and a Cascara for its medicinal purposes.

For her private property, she has planted what will become an amazing little orchard including a Lattarula Fig, a Bartlett Pear, a Seneca Plum, a Jonagold Apple, and a Japanese Fuyu Persimmon. Planting these trees felt natural for Lynn. Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest and around many trees, Lynn feels trees are precious and very important.

On planting day, the team of planters celebrated more than just planting trees. They celebrated a milestone birthday for Lynn. What a wonderful way to spend time with friends in your own community and celebrate a birthday!

How Many Trees Can You Plant?
Thriving young Golden Raindrops Crabapple (Whitney Dorer)

Lynn’s care for these trees has given them all a great start to thriving in their environment. Using a bucket with a drilled hole in the bottom to help manage the summer watering, she described the time she spent watering as meditative, giving her a chance to slow down from a busy day at the office. She was able to connect with neighbors passing by and to talk about the trees: a true story of community building through planting trees.

Come join us at your neighborhood planting!

–Dorer is Neighborhood Trees Manager for Friends of Trees.