March 14th, 2020

This Week's Tour...
...met at new, winter months' time 10:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish. We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
...shouting out to this week's 8 super supportive walkers that joined me for the last Trees Atlanta tour before "shelter in place".

Thanks for a great tour!

Map of the week...
...replaced by "pic of the week"! On the tour, we discussed the ballpark that used to be located across Ponce from PCM and the "Spiller" Magnolias located in the outfield and soon after I ran across this pic in GSU's archive. Cool! (Found the pic in this cool story about the magnolias' commemorative plaque; go Trees Atlanta! --> link).

"Spiller Field"

(Thanks, GSU!)

Tree of the week...
...singling out one of the hundreds of specimens from the dozens of collections along the arboretum.

March's tour continued to sing the praises of "American Elm Princeton", the variety of American Elm whose resistance to Dutch Elm disease and upright vase shape makes it an excellent candidate for replanting the urban canopy shading our city streets.

Ulmus americana

American Elm, Princeton

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Q: What used to be located where the Old Fourth Ward Skate Park is today?

A: That is quite the stump! I'm still researching...however, I did find this 1952 map with a clue: "Atlanta News [sic?] Papers Inc". I know "Creative Loafing" used to have their offices on Willoughby, so maybe the properties are related? More to come!

Approx. location of O4W Skate Park

Detail, Map of Atlanta, 1952 

(Thanks GSU!)

February 8th, 2020

This Week's Tour...
...met at new, winter months' time 10:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish. We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
...shouting out to this week's tour group, the 6 hearty souls that joined me in the wintery mix to tour the arboretum. YOWZA!

Thanks for a great tour!

Map of the week...
At the intersection of the Beltline Eastside Trail and Freedom Parkway, we talked about the land cleared of 100's of houses along the proposed route. Some of that land became Freedom Parkway (north to Ponce and east to Moreland), while other land past the Parkway became the greenspaces we know and love today; John Howell Park, Sidney Marcus Park, and Freedom Park.

"I-485"

(Thanks, Wikipedia!)

Tree of the week...
...singling out one of the hundreds of specimens from the dozens of collections along the arboretum.

February's tour continued on the theme of "marcescence", the process by which tree leaves die, but stay on the branch until spring. Beech is still my favorite...so much so I drew it!

Fagus grandifolia

American Beech

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Q: How much longer are we going to keep walking in the snow?

A: EASY! About 10 minutes less than we normally take for the tour. Thanks for joining me and I hope you stayed warm and dry for the rest of the day!

"Raw" Beltline Trail in Piedmont Park, 

looking north, just north of Park Drive

January 11th, 2020

This Week's Tour...
...met at new, winter months' time 10:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish. We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
...shouting out to this week's tour group, the 9 enthusiastic souls (out of 30 sign-ups!) that braved the occasional sprinkle to help make this tour super fun!

Thanks for a great tour!

Map of the week...
At the intersection of the Beltline Eastside Trail and Freedom Parkway, we talked about I-485, with tour members correctly calling out that its proposed development help spur the creation of many neighborhood groups to fight against it (most of which still exist today as part of the NPU process to deliver citizen opinion to city council proposals). While many homes were acquired by the GDOT and razed (500+ by some accounts), a successful citizen campaign helped negotiate new endpoints for the proposed roadways at Ponce and North Avenue, keeping the majority of Candler Park, Virginia Highland, Morningside, and Decatur neighborhoods intact.

"I-485"

(Thanks, Wikipedia!)

Tree of the week...
...singling out one of the hundreds of specimens from the dozens of collections along the arboretum.

On this month's tour, because there are so few deciduous trees that retain their leaves throughout winter, we talked about those do, a characteristic known as "marcescence". Many species of oaks retain their leaves, but my personal favorite is the beech, whose beautiful coppery leaves can be seen throughout the forest understory, fluttering in the winter wind until abscission causes them to drop the dead leaves in the spring.

Fagus grandifolia

American Beech

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Q: What do you know about that park on the westside that will be bigger than Piedmont?

A: That would be the new Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry! It's not yet open to the public, but a great way to see it (from outside the construction fence) is by walking the Proctor Creek Greenway.  

Proctor Creek Greenway

Bellwood Quarry

(Thanks, Path Foundation!)

December 14h, 2019 - TOUR WITHOUT JEFF

November 9th, 2019

This Week's Tour...
...met at new, winter months' time 10:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish. We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
...shouting out to this week's tour group, including a couple excited about coming to "the city". Thanks for thinking of Trees Atlanta and the Beltline!

Thanks for a great tour!

Map of the week...
At the intersection of the Beltline Eastside Trail and Freedom Parkway, we talked about the bordering neighborhood Old Fourth Ward. It has the distinction of being the only neighborhood named after the old city governing ward system. Most of the original neighborhood names in that area are lost to history and development; i.e. displacing families to build the Atlanta Civic Center essentially erased the neighborhood of "Buttermilk Bottom", now just a part of "Old Fourth Ward".

"Buttermilk Bottom, 1949-2013"

(Thanks, Atlanta Progressive News!)

Tree of the week...
...singling out one of the hundreds of specimens from the dozens of collections along the arboretum.

Bald Cypress - We stopped to take investigate the quarter-sized, gall-like growths on several Bald Cypresses. Galls? Disease? Nope...just seed pods with variegated external coloring.

Taxodium distichum

Bald Cypress

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Q: What kinds of bird species do oaks along the Beltline support?

A: Short answer; LOTS! Long answer; I will definitely be setting up some observation time to watch bird behaviors along Oak Hill among the 33 specimens of oaks native to Georgia, but I do know I've observed lots of our state bird, the Brown Thrasher, hopping along the branches. For more details on "Plants for Birds", visit the Atlanta Audubon Society website for an EXCELLENT brochure! 

Toxostoma rufum

Brown Thrasher

(Thanks, Atlanta Audubon Society!)

October 12th, 2019

This Week's Tour...
...met at 9:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish. We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
...shouting out to this week's tour group, including a couple excited about coming to "the city". Thanks for thinking of Trees Atlanta and the Beltline!

Thanks for a great tour!

Map of the week...
Toward the end our tour, we talked about how early development of the land on both sides of Ponce de Leon disrupted the natural watershed. That early development included a baseball field (where Home Depot/Whole Foods). In 1924, you could have reached that ballpark (and our tour!) by the streetcar running north on Peachtree St and then east out Ponce.

"Atlanta Streetcars, 1924"

(Thanks, Wiki!)

Tree of the week...
...singling out one of the hundreds of specimens from the dozens of collections along the arboretum.

Tupelo Blackgum - Seen in the Trees Atlanta Arboretum along the beltline eastside trail between Freedom Parkway and Ralph McGill, columnar subspecies of this tree have along been planted next to the Ponce City Market shed bio swale. Loved by pollinators in the spring for its flower and by all in the fall for its spectacular colors, Blackgum is a favorite of many southerners.

Nyssa sylvatica

Tupelo Blackgum

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Q: How old is the magnolia between Telephone Factory Lofts and the Beltline?

A: Short answer; without drilling a core sample and counting the rings, there is no way to measure its exact age. However, judging by its height (80 ish feet), location (next to the Western Electric factory built 81 years ago in 1938), and thinning canopy, it is definitely in its senior years. Plenty of time to give it lots of love and plant a next generation companion magnolia nearby!

September 14th, 2019

This Week's Tour...
...met at 9:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish. We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
...shouting out to this week's tour group, including 5 young ladies on a "girls weekend". Thanks for thinking of Trees Atlanta and the Beltline!

Thanks for a great tour!

Map of the week...
As we reached the Beltline's intersection with Ralph McGill Blvd, we talked about the property west of the trail being incorporated in 1904 as part of the city limit expansion to include what is now Piedmont Park. Here is an earlier map of the park during the 1895 Cotton States Exhibition.

"Cotton States Exhibition, 1895"

(Thanks, AJC!)

Tree of the week...
...singling out one of the hundreds of specimens from the dozens of collections along the arboretum.

The Bur Oak - on the north side of Tim Frank's permanent art installation at the intersection with Angier Springs - is one of two North American oak species along the Beltline Eastside trail NOT native to Georgia.  Its name comes from the fringed cup around its acorn. It is a member of the white oak group, having rounded, lobed leaves.

Quercus macrocarpa

Bur Oak

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Q1: (Upon seeing evidence of early leaf drop and struggling trees during this unusually hot and dry September) Is that cedar tree dying?

A1: Good news! Those copper-colored conifers you see along the Beltline are examples of deciduous conifers; needled trees that lose their leaves each winter, so they are perfectly healthy! Now for the "a little more research" news...while I know that there are excellent examples of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) growing on the shores of Lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park, as well as specimen along the Eastside Trail just south of the intersection with Monroe, I didn't look closely enough to see if this particular tree near Freedom Parkway was indeed a bald cypress or the taller, more pyramidal dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). 

Here's a video that will hopefully help me ID them better next tour (dawn = opposite branches/leaflets, bald = alternating branches/leaflets)! Thanks for the challenge! <link>