Downtown: tree planting

[antoinekhuu]

[/url]
http://www.downtowndallas.com/current.htm#landscape


BEAUTIFYING DOWNTOWN
The Downtown Improvement District has had a special focus this year on landscaping and beautification projects in Downtown Dallas. By planting trees, tree trimming and designing new median landscaping, the DID has made a visible difference.

<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=135>
http://www.downtowndallas.com/WATERINGTRUCK.gif
</TD><TD>Just last week, the DID began testing out a new watering truck to help maintain landscape projects throughout Downtown.</TD></TR><TR><TD height=204>
http://www.downtowndallas.com/median.gif
</TD><TD>Lava rock is being replaced with carefully designed greenery in many of the medians Downtown. Be sure to stroll by this example on Griffin Street.</TD></TR><TR><TD width="32%" height=182>
http://www.downtowndallas.com/tree.gif


[url="http://www.downtowndallas.com/current.htm#top"] ("")


</TD><TD>The DID is committed to the plant a "tree a week" program. -If you see a great place for some new trees, call DID at 214-744-1270. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Milkman Dan]

Looks great - what type(s) of trees are they planting? Is that a small Red Shumard in the bottom photo I see?

This is the type of "grass roots" (NPI) efforts that will make downtown and Dallas in general desirable for people to visit and spend time around. The trees on McKinney are looking good, but in 30 years - look out! Will be a great looking boulevard to stroll down (not drive of course..)

[antoinekhuu]

I think the trees in the second picture are live oaks.
It will look even better after 30 years. Look at the live oaks long Main street in the Art district of Houston.

I hope both downtown and Victory will have grand tree-lined boulevards
We are so behind the rest of the world in term of great streets.
http://forum.dallasmetropolis.com/showpost.php?p=92981&postcount=1741

[BigD5349]

Are they sticking with drought-tolerant foliage? Also, aren't there certain types of trees that keep the bird droppings to a minimum?

[antoinekhuu]

Are they sticking with drought-tolerant foliage? ?
They use watering truck,so I guess not.
but I like lush foliage though.

[slfunk]

They have to water them in the early stages of planting to help with shock of being moved and to help the root structure...etc. etc. Where the trees are older, it looks like new low growth that was just planted.

[gc]

It is about time!


This is the type of "grass roots" (NPI) efforts that will make downtown and Dallas in general desirable for people to visit and spend time around. The trees on McKinney are looking good, but in 30 years - look out! Will be a great looking boulevard to stroll down (not drive of course..)

I could not agree more. I have been suggesting this for about four years now.

[The Great Hizzy!]

Hey, good news! I've always wanted to see more tree-lined streets in DT Dallas.

[Milkman Dan]

I could not agree more. I have been suggesting this for about four years now.Unfortunately, these are the types of "little things" (to quote LM) that Dallas has not been very good at getting going. Sure, we can have a billionaire donate $30 million for a bridge, but it really is the smaller projects that make an impact on everyday lives of the citizenry. More grass roots efforts are needed, less bureaucratic crap from city hall IMO.

These are the things that government does not do very well oftentimes.

[carousel]

It's about time and let's hope they stick w/ it!

[Boredkid]

Any one know it they take donation? And if so how to donate.

[carousel]

Unfortunately, these are the types of "little things" (to quote LM) that Dallas has not been very good at getting going. Sure, we can have a billionaire donate $30 million for a bridge, but it really is the smaller projects that make an impact on everyday lives of the citizenry. More grass roots efforts are needed, less bureaucratic crap from city hall IMO.

These are the things that government does not do very well oftentimes.

Speaking of bureaucratic crap, it is my understanding that the owner of Garden Cafe located on Junius Street had a prolongued fight w/ the city so that he could plant some trees across the street from his cafe. Finally, he did prevail. It seems that the city should have other, more important, items on the agenda.

[Milkman Dan]

^
That's surprising to me - I assume you are talking about the park across from there. G.C. is awesome and Mr. Wooten should get a medal for his efforts in restoring that retail strip. Couldn't be cooler, what with the actual garden in the back.. Encourage everyone to go by - I make breakfast at least 5 times a mo.

Anyway, it's surprising to me bcs I've worked with the city arborists a bit on a few projects and they have a donation program where people can donate trees to the city. The fight may have been over a private citizen wanting to plant on public land? Who know, but yes, the city should have some mechanism to say "yes" without the boondoggle fight. Sad, and all too common in Dallas. We are not efficient at all.

[carousel]

I believe that was the issue - private citizen wanting to plant trees on public land. The Garden Cafe does kick ass and Dale Wooten has done wonders w/ the building.

[Boredkid]

With the way the city is run, you can normaly get away with something. You plant a tree, the city assumes that one of its many arms did it. As long as you look like you belong there and you know what you are doing. And wearing running shoes does not hurt either.

[Milkman Dan]

One of the mags / newspapers here would have a field day if someone got fined / arrested for planting a tree in a park. I can see it now - "Tree-planting bandit ends up in Lew Sterrett!"

[Boredkid]

Dont give me any ideas.

[antoinekhuu]

Those trees on Griffin St median turn out to be Cedar Elm.Those trees won't age as gracefully as live oaks though.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/ansemt/DSCN6896.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/ansemt/DSCN6897.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/ansemt/DSCN6898.jpg






I hope that one day all DT streets will look like this (Haskell Ave -CityPlace)




http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/ansemt/uptownstreet.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/ansemt/DSCN6913.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a389/ansemt/DSCN6916.jpg

[FoUTASportscaster]

Those shots look great!

[Boredkid]

If only all of our streets looked like those.

[texman]

Wrong post.

[EscapeToCity]

RE: the pictures above; the Cityplace development included some great landscaping, for sure

[WTx]

I love when cities make these little medians in the streets. OKC has some as well on Broadway. The trees just take the edge off of the concrete jungle look. I prefer this more than placing them in front of buildings. When they grow and get large they block good architecture IMO.

[Lakewooder]

Being in several organizations, I've found it's easier just to plant the damn things on public property then make sure they get some water. If you ask permission, it's way too much trouble. Besides, it will take months for them to figure out what you are talking about...

But don't quote me!

[warlock55]

Being in several organizations, I've found it's easier just to plant the damn things on public property then make sure they get some water. If you ask permission, it's way too much trouble. Besides, it will take months for them to figure out what you are talking about...

But don't quote me!

Oh lord...don't any of you all complain when you see the park department tree maintenance budget go up and you all have to pay for it. And don't talk about cutting it and giving money to the cops either. :rolleyes:

[frankchitown]

For some reason everytime i see this thread this poem comes to mind...

Trees - Joyce Kilmer




I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

[Lakewooder]

Warlock, I don't think I've ever seen them actually maintain a tree!

[Boredkid]

Well depends on what you mean by maintain. By some, the worker peeing on the tree could be though as the city maintaining it.

[antoinekhuu]

In News 8 today, they are giving away free bald cypress and sweet gum in the Performing Arts land to begin construction.The owners have to pay for relocation and replanting of those trees.
I didn't prefer bald cypress as street trees,But I still think that it is better to be on some DT streets than in some homeowners' yards.

By the way, I think the solution is having a non-profit organization that their primary goal is planting ,landscaping and beautifying streets.They would get the donation of private citizens and the approal of the city.

[Tnekster]

^When is this giveaway taking place?

[antoinekhuu]

I have a question (not really related to this topic though)
Due to the urban heat island effect,can we plant the Canary island date palm in DTD ?
( for those who don't know what tree it is,Canany Island date palm is the palm trees planted along the signature street in Beverly Hills)
It would be great if we have some along our DT streets. It would be greater if the Galleria get rid of those faux palms in the third floor and plant the real Canary Island date Palm in the first floor.(of course,we don't have to worry about freeze inside the Galleria atrium)

[Tnekster]

^What is the lowest tollerable temp for that plant? I would guess no on that one but don't really know for sure.

[Boredkid]

I had some neighbors who have palm trees. And remeber them having to wrap them up every winter. Dont know what kind they had but imagine the same treatment would have to be adminstered to anything downtown. So that would be one large expense. As would be having to cut off the dead leaves. It may look cool, but maybe we should stick to something from the north texas area. Something that can take our heat and our cold.

[Tnekster]

^I have a Mexican fan palm in the back yard that I don't do anything to because I am too lazy to wrap it up every year. But the tree does very well without any assistance/interference from me. It can be done, you just have to select the right one. That being said I don't know if I could see palm trees downtown. I think they would do well because of the heat island effect but would rather see a selection of native species lining the streets.

[tamtagon]

Even if a heat island effect occured during the coldest part of winter, I doubt there would be enough ambient heat to save tender plants from a series of overnight freezes. Sabal minor (Texas palmetto) are native to North Texas, though.

Here's a description lifted from a long dead website which focused on a nature preserve somewhere in Southern Dallas County:


Overhead you can see red tailed hawks, while at your feet the tracks of raccoon and coyote. Blue herons and White egrets can be seen fishing along the banks. As you enter the swamp, tall trees predominate. Pecan, Elm, Willow, Oak, and Bois d'arc trees make up the majority of the types of trees you can find there. The swamp therefore is a series of small streams and flooded woodlands. As you walk along the muddy banks you can see large fresh water mussels shell. Most of the plant life is deciduous but it isn't long before you see some green vegetation. The 3-5 feet wide leaves of Sabal minor, or Texas palmetto stand out against the bare ground. All around are seedlings that appear to be blades of grass. Throughout this immediate area are scattered groupings of 10-20 plants, about 8 feet tall, with no trunk. After pushing on in the heavy mud, avoiding the alligators, rattlesnakes and cottonmouths, you come across a ridge. From the top of this ridge is an amazing sight. A huge forest of palms! Lush green palm fronds span this area with the average height being about 8 feet tall, and some specimens about 12 feet.

This quote can be found in this thread (http://forum.dallasmetropolis.com/showthread.php?t=626). I remember the wildlife preserve is at an abandoned quarry or something like that, and I think it's part of the Dallas Parks System, but cannot remember the name.

[Tnekster]

It might have been the Dallas Nature Center which has been renamed the Cedar Ridge Preserve. I have been down in the swamp area or one of them but didn't go all the way to the end and may have missed the palmetto and definately missed the alligators. Dallas Nature Center used to be part of the parks system but Audubon now runs the preserve.

Try this link www.audubondallas.org/cedarridge.html (http://www.audubondallas.org/cedarridge.html) to see if this might be the place. This particular site was supposed to be a housing development but the terrain proved to be too much for the developer back then and was gifted to the city. There is another preserve nearby that the county runs and is the first county preserve in the area. It is called Cedar Mountain and has trails up into the side of the hill. The other site Audubon is working on is Dogwood Canyon which is right behind Cedar Mountain but I have no clue what is back there. Between the Audubon preserve, the Dallas County preserve and Cedar Hill State park there are probably near 2000 acres of preserved land out there or out here I should say.

[Insidetheloop]

It's the Palmetto Alligator Slough Preserve. Inside the preserve is what amounts to a palm forest leftover from before the last ice age. Somehow that area survived the cold weather.

Most tropical plants will die during the winter here in Dallas. Usually we have a couple of nights in the mid-teens every year which will kill off just about any tropical plant. Some semi-tropical plants can handle the very cold weather to a point. I have some hibiscus plants, banana trees and some hearty palms that can take cold weather if I mulch them heavily and cover them during the very coldest weather.

[Tnekster]

It's the Palmetto Alligator Slough Preserve. Inside the preserve is what amounts to a palm forest leftover from before the last ice age. Somehow that area survived the cold weather.



Where is that?

[JasonDallas]

This quote can be found in this thread (http://forum.dallasmetropolis.com/showthread.php?t=626). I remember the wildlife preserve is at an abandoned quarry or something like that, and I think it's part of the Dallas Parks System, but cannot remember the name.

Here's the original page, its not Cedar Ridge:

http://dallaspalms.com/native_palm_groves_in_dallas.htm

[Tnekster]

Never mind

[Insidetheloop]

Where is that?

SE Dallas near the sewage treatment plants. Currently, you can only go there via invitation(or just hop the gate). I have never been there but I heard from a friend who is a tree frog expert that it looks very similar to Belize.

It appears that the county has removed the exact location from it's "open space" website database to keep the public away.

Now would be a good time to visit with the water levels being so low from the lack of rain.

[Tnekster]

I wouldn't mind going down there while it is cool and the snakes and gators are busy doing something else.

[tamtagon]

It's the Palmetto Alligator Slough Preserve.

I've always known you are way cooler than an urban hipster....

[antoinekhuu]

^When is this giveaway taking place?

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/051128_mo_trees.1d228bd8.html
Want free trees? Try downtown Dallas



08:50 PM CST on Monday, November 28, 2005



By DAVID FLICK / The Dallas Morning News

Just in time for Christmas, a downtown arts group is giving away trees.

But it may be more conifer than your living room can handle, and the most expensive free gift you’ll ever receive.

The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation is giving away nearly 350 bald cypress and sweet gum trees that now grow in a park adjacent to the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.

“We had a couple of people call thinking they were Christmas trees,” foundation spokeswoman Tina Sharp said, “but when we told them they were 25-foot bald cypresses, they were like, ‘OK, thank you, never mind.’.”

The site is being cleared to make room for an arts district parking garage and the new Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House.

“We wanted to open up the site and, at the same time, offer another life for the trees,” Sharp said.

Anyone interested in getting one of the trees may call the foundation at 214-954-9925, extension 235, by the close of the business day Thursday. The tree is yours gratis - with several caveats.

The trees, which were planted in the late 1980s when the Meyerson was being constructed, are about 25 feet tall. Furthermore, anyone claiming a tree is responsible for all removal and relocation costs - which can be expected to run at least $1,000, Ms. Sharp said.

The foundation had received about 40 calls by Monday afternoon, she said. Most were from businesses and companies that want the trees for developments.

The foundation doesn’t want to misrepresent its offering.

“We encourage people to come to the site and look at them before they make a decision,” Ms. Sharp said.



E-mail dflick@dallasnews.com

[tamtagon]

^I wonder why these trees are not being planted in the Trinity River Park. There's got to be a spot safe from the next 5 year's construction activity, and that's one park which will hurting for big trees when it first opens.

[Boredkid]

Bet the city does not want to pay for having the trees moved. Something they will regret in a few years.

[gc]

Bet the city does not want to pay for having the trees moved. Something they will regret in a few years.

Totally. They should suck it up and pay to have them removed and replanted somewhere else in DTD.

[tamtagon]

Another good place might be across the highway in Griggs Park (http://forum.dallasmetropolis.com/showthread.php?t=939).

[Boredkid]

I am sure if some local citizen were to come up with the money they would not object to planting them in a park. Any takers?

[Milkman Dan]

^
BK, read above where the city gave Dale Wooten grief about wanting to plant trees in the park across from his retail center. I am sure there are some ridiculous hoops that must be traversed.