By Anne W. Semmes
Just how embracing we can be with our trees was spelled out movingly last Thursday week at the Greenwich Tree Conservancy’s annual “Treasured Trees “event at Sam Bridge Nursery. Over 70 tree enthusiasts gathered to be introduced to the chosen top winning trees of the annual contest then hear the testimony from each tree winning owner.
Speaking for the first prize winning 200-year plus English Yew Tree, standing 45-feet in the Christ Church Cemetery, was Rusty Parker, Christ Church member and GTC board member, who via Joanne Bouknight nominated the tree on behalf of Christ Church. “It’s older than the graveyard,” said Parker. As introduced by John Conte, GTC board vice president – the Yew had “a winning score of 94 out of 100.” “This tree was likely brought as a seedling to North America,” noted Parker, who’d nominated the Yew last year but “It didn’t make it. So, we rewrote the words and got a better photograph…We love the tree because it has been so much comfort in the cemetery.” He added, “You’re all welcome to visit the graveyard at Christ Church – the tree is way in the back.”
A sizeable Japanese Maple was Second Prize winner. Conte spelled out its score of 89 out of 100. “It got a 10 for size and age, a nine for pedigree, 18 for uniqueness, 24 for value.” And it has “a wonderful story.” Accepting the prize of a framed tree photograph – and all winning trees receive a GTC plaque, was Chris Retzler, who shared his mother Leona Retzler was unable to attend but “I’m the child of climbing that tree probably 50 years ago. So, the tree is quite older but it’s my mother’s favorite tree. It just keeps her going. She lives backcountry and everyone’s telling her to move downtown.” But what keeps her rooted is, “All the plants and all the trees that she’s planted over the years.”
And that planting had influenced her son as he shared. “I got into planting when I moved out here.” From “taking care of all the perennials I got into rainforest conservation in college. So that’s how I got into conservation. And I have to thank my parents for all that they did, getting me out working in the yard. And why did I do that? The plants and the trees – they can’t speak for themselves.”
“The third-place award,” said Conte, “goes to Rory and Kathryn Shaw for their beautiful Dawn Redwood – known as [botanical name] Metasequoia glyptostroboides – and it is one of the finest examples in Greenwich. It scored 10 on size, 10 on age, nine on pedigree, and its uniqueness in the ornamental values just maxed it out at 20.” told Conte, “Unfortunately sometimes in the fall they lose their needles, but when they come out in the spring, they have this very, very soft green color. “
Accepting the award was Matt Mcmillan of Mcmillan Garden Design who had submitted the tree. “The tree itself is like a hundred feet tall,” Mcmillan began. The first time I ever saw this tree – I was doing some work on the property, and it is the coolest thing I ever saw. It’s the one thing that Kathryn Shaw was always most proud of.”
Mcmillan then dove into telling the backstory of the Dawn Redwood, a deciduous, coniferous tree – known to have existed back to nearly 150 million years ago. But with Mcmillan’s history beginning in 1941 with its discovery by a paleobotanists, Conte suggested Mcmillan set up a table after the presentations to share that history.
There were four other contenders in the lineup including Laura Noe’s Red Leaf Maple, Susan Allen’s Copper Beach, Siobhan Burn’s Weeping Higan Cherry, and a Korean Evodia from Fred Landsman’s Sleepy Cat Farm. But the finale Honorable mention was a particularly heartwarming story with the whole family present for the telling tale of their Peach Tree.
So, began Andriana Perez with the rescue of the Peach Tree. Back in 2015, she was at Whole Foods seeing a man with a potted peach tree plant trying to return it but could not without a receipt, so threw the pot into the trash. “So, some people rescue animals,” she told, and with the man’s permission she rescued the peach tree plant and took it home. “I put it in the house with sun and water… and I forgot about it.” Meanwhile the kids began bringing home peaches from a small tree nearby. “And then in August in 2016, my husband’s father came to visit us, and he saw the little pot and said, ‘You might as well plant it somewhere – let it grow.’”
“So, the kids and I decided,” she continued, “to plant it close to the kitchen because, we’re going to cook with all these peaches… So, we planted the tree, and the peach tree has grown with our family. It’s now actually taller than us. And when it sees rain, it has beautiful flowers… And the photographers stop by and ask, ‘Do you mind if I take a photo of the tree? And our mailman always stops by and he says, can I please have a peach?”
And “All the kids look forward to bringing the peaches in, to make ice cream, peach cobbler, and all sorts of things… And this year my husband’s father passed away, so it’s also in our portrait, and in photos of his father. And the peach tree now reminds him of his father, the time he came and planted the peach tree.”
