WILMINGTON — Shoppers will notice some new additions to the area, as the Wilmington Tree Commission has planted some new trees not only downtown, but also throughout the city.
The planting process began this past spring when the tree commission received a nice donation from a former Wilmington resident. After that, they began to set the ground work to get the trees planted with enlarging the holes.
Among the trees planted included gingko, urban sunset maple, elms, and Persian ironwood. These trees are replacing the crab apple trees that had previously been in place.
“Over time, they died and they were just not the best selection for downtown because they were short and bushy and dense. The purpose of this is that we can get larger trees in so we can prune them up above head height and car height,” said Chris Hodgson of the tree commission.
According to Hodgson, the tree commission has planted more than 185 trees along the streets, in parks and at the fairgrounds. They’ve already planted 33 trees on North South Street and on West and East Main streets.
To Hodgson, these updates to downtown not only reflect the variety of downtown businesses, but will also assist them.
“People like to park and shop where there’s shade,” said Hodgson. “They’re much more than just an ornamental addition to the downtown area; they’re also meant to be more practical and functional.”
The next step for the tree commission is to plant trees along Locust Street.
