Cherish beauty of trees

It's time to talk of trees.

Native trees and Christmas trees are on our minds as we get ready to select the evergreen tree to decorate for the holidays, and to choose a South Carolina native tree to celebrate our Southern Arbor Day.

The Hilton Head Island Garden Council and the Island Beautification Association began what is now a tradition, the planting of a native tree on the first Friday in December; the date chosen by arborists most suitable for the health and well-being of newly planted trees.

This year's tree is the loblolly bay (Gordonia lasianthus) a favorite of many local gardeners and naturalists for its handsome evergreen foliage and showy, large, white, fragrant blossoms that bloom sporadically throughout the summer.

The loblolly bay can grow to 70 feet in height and with a distinct conical crown. It likes moisture and needs to be watered during drought conditions. It is often found growing with sweetbay, a variety of the magnolia family, which it closely resembles.

Gardeners looking to add autumn color to their yards, can go native with a tree that does not require much room to grow, and, like the loblolly bay, is rare and endangered in the Lowcountry. Notable for lustrous chestnut-like leathery green leaves which turn bronze-orange-red in autumn, the native dwarf Chinkapin oak, (Quercus prinoides) is an ideal tree for small gardens as its mature height is only about 15 feet.

Our Arbor Day Celebration will begin at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts Elementary School. The students will present an original program to take place behind the school at the newly created Fitness Park. This original and visually interesting landscape includes a Carolina Fence with plantings by a local Girl Scout troop.

CHRISTMAS TREES

Those who like to get their Christmas trees early may choose a Fraser Fir from Sugar Mountain Farms, whose trees and wreaths for sale are located on the softball field across the street from the Island Recreation Center. This is their 13th year here; as always a portion of each sale goes to the school system, including the Hilton Head Island High School football team.

IT'S SHRUB PLANTING TIME

Sometimes a tree grows too large for its location. When this happens it is most often cut down. When the too large tree is singularly handsome, it may be moved to another location, a daunting task. If it's to be done, it's best done now or in January when days are cool and there is rainfall. I tracked down Bob Draper, graduate of Master Gardener and Rutgers University landscape courses, at Pritchard Street pocket park in Bluffton where he was conducting his own pruning course with the town's landscape and maintenance crew.

"Always follow the one-third pruning rule," Draper said. "Cutting more than one-third of the branches will kill the shrub."

Draper and crew were cutting back the rampant growth of many wax myrtle plants and vines. The little known and mostly forgotten park was once a well-tended retreat for local residents who visited to rest and gaze at the May River with Palmetto Bluff and Myrtle Island in the distance, and the spectacular sunsets at afternoon's end. The maintenance crew is working with Bluffton and Hilton Head Island Master Gardeners to clean and restore the park. The three weathered benches with plaques that honor nine local children who died between 1997 and 2003, have been refinished. With the help of Laura Lee Rose, county agricultural agent, native plants have been identified and saved.

There are several beautyberry and coral bean plants; there is boneset, a Eupatorium, and my favorite Ilex, the Sparkleberry.

In the next few weeks Master Gardeners under the direction of Carolyn Aldeman and Janice Miskin will plant azaleas, camellias and saw palmettos within the park. The grounds will be mulched and the Bluffton covenant sign restored. A large Leland cypress tree has grown too big for its location and will have to be moved. The skinny is that it will be planted in a more central Bluffton location and become the community Christmas tree.

Aldeman told me that years ago it was not unusual for neighborhoods in Bluffton to develop pocket parks where people could go to sit and rest. The Pritchard Street pocket park is located near the Bluffton Maintenance Building and the Heyward House. It promises to be a perfect gem of a park, a place to meditate and to be grateful for the caring residents in our community who never take their eyes off of the beauty of nature.