Have you ever planted a tree on Arbor Day?
I have planted a lot of trees over the years, but I can’t recall doing so specifically for Arbor Day. I don’t remember even doing anything special for the day when I was a youngster in school.
According to the Arborday.org web page, a Nebraska pioneer, J. Sterling Morton, is responsible for the original Arbor Day recognition on April 10, 1872. Having driven through Nebraska quite a few times, I can understand the need for thinking about tree planting. On that first Arbor Day, more than a million trees were planted in the state. In 1885 the governor of Nebraska made April 22, Mr. Sterling’s birthday, a legal holiday for the state. Since then other states have done the same, choosing days best suitable for setting out trees in the spring. Not to be out done, Oregon has designated the first full week of April as Arbor WEEK.
With the COVID-19 lockdown, there were probably not a lot of trees planted then. I planted two fruit trees in my yard last fall, a yellow delicious (on the right) and a McIntosh (on the left). I am counting them as my 2020 Arbor Week contribution. They are both blooming now, a respectful nod to Nebraska’s Arbor day holiday on April 22.