He looked away from the buildings and out over the ocean of trees. Since Atlanta was not a port city and was, in fact, far inland, the trees stretched on in every direction. They were Atlanta’s greatest natural resource, those trees were. People loved to live beneath them.

Thomas Wolfe, A Man in Full

Trees in Peachtree Park

Walk down any street in the neighborhood and look up.  Trees are all around us.  Some are understory and midstory trees which are smaller and more ornamental.  Examples include Dogwoods, Japanese Maples and Crepe Myrtles.  Others tower over us, like the oaks, Tulip Poplars and pines.  These are overstory trees, some of which qualify as specimen trees and perhaps there are some that should be on the list of historic trees.

It goes without saying that trees are one of our most valuable assets.  They clean the air, keep us cool, lessen water runoff, reduce noise and make your property worth more.  Our page Learn About Trees has more information.

You might be be surprised how many there are in our 260 acres.  If someone asked you how many trees are in your own yard, do you know?   We thought we did, but a careful accounting revealed that we have an even larger number than we thought.

Preserving Our Trees

Sounds like it wouldn’t be hard to do.  Trees grow all the time, right?   They do indeed, but we seem to be very good at removing them. As a counter to the tree removal signs, we’ve asked the Peachtree Park board to make a few of these signs available to let everybody know a new tree is in the ground.

What can you do to help preserve what we have?  Here are some suggestions:

• Protect your trees and add more when you can.
• Remember, tree removal affects us all and is subject to a public process.
• Add more trees, especially natives, that provide beauty and help wildlife.
• Don’t use pesticides or other chemicals and make sure your lawn service doesn’t either.

If you have a young child, plant a tree in your yard and watch them grow up together.