Hallettsville Garden Club
Gardens

Harrigan presents interesting facts about Arbor Day at Garden Club Meeting

  • Hostesses for the Arbor Day meeting, are from left: Janis Muehr, Karen Satterly, Linda Maiorana and John Kelly
    Hostesses for the Arbor Day meeting, are from left: Janis Muehr, Karen Satterly, Linda Maiorana and John Kelly

    The special Arbor Day meeting held by the Hallettsville Garden Club on Nov. 16, was called to order by President Bonnie Baker.

    Sharon Harrigan gave some interesting facts about Arbor Day. The first tree-plantiay. 250 million trees have been planted since. Trees areng holiday was set back on April 10, 1872, and more than 1 million trees were planted on that first Arbor D good for the atmosphere as one tree can provide enough oxygen in one day for four people. There are two kinds of trees: deciduous, which loses its leaves in winter, and evergreen, which stays green yearround. There are about 100,000 varieties of trees in the world, of which 750 varieties are found in North America.

    A program on Small Decorative Trees was presented by Master Gardener and our own club member Regena Wiliamson. She highlighted characteristics of a few trees that can be planted in our area.

    The Cherry Laurel needs deep soil and even soil moisture; its berries are food for wildlife and can be used as a hedge. The Desert Willow needs plenty of sun, attracts birds and butterflies, and is pest-free. The Texas Hawthorne produces berries that are edible for jellies, and birds depend on it for survival. The Fringe Tree grows from 12 to 20 feet tall and has fruit in the fall; they can handle City Pollution. The Yaupon is a species of holly that can grow from 10 to 30 feet tall. It tolerates wet and dry conditions and full sun to dense shade.

    The native tree can send suckers. The Red Bud is good in all soil conditions and attracts beneficial insects, but it has a short life span. The Texas Ebony grows from 25 to 30 feet tall and likes full sun. It provides heavy shade when full grown and attracts butterflies.

    The Texas Madrone is a multi-trunked evergreen that has white urn-shaped flowers in spring. The American Smoke tree grows from 15 to 30 feet tall and has smoky flower clusters and beautiful fall foliage. It is drought tolerant and disease resistant. Some non-native trees are the loquat, catalpa, mimosa, tung oil tree and ginko.

    President Baker presented the Hallettsville Garden Club Angel Award to Sharon Harrigan for her dedicated service to the Club.

    Refreshments were served by the club’s hostess committee members Janis Muehr, Karen Satterly, Linda Maiorana and John Kelly.