The Wellington Garden Club will celebrate Florida Arbor Day with a tree-planting ceremony at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 19, at Wellington Rotary Peace Park, located at 1825 Royal Fern Drive.
This event will kick off a year-long celebration of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs’ 100th anniversary. All garden clubs in Florida will take part by planting a tree on this same date and time.
The Wellington Garden Club will join the statewide celebration by planting a slash pine (Pinus elliottii) tree. A tour of the ever-expanding plantings in the park, including native orchids, will be given by Will Gurney, landscape superintendent for the Village of Wellington.
“Trees provide welcome shade in hot weather and reduce electric bills. They also provide food and shelter for wildlife and beautify our country,” said Carol Ralph, president of the Wellington Garden Club.
Katherine Wagner-Reiss, Arbor Day coordinator for the Wellington Garden Club, agreed.
“Arbor Day is the perfect occasion to introduce people to the concept of ‘keystone species’ — native trees that do the lion’s share of the work of supporting caterpillars and pollinators,” Wagner-Reiss said. “[This tree] supports 200 species of caterpillars, and thus the slash pine is a keystone species in Palm Beach County.”
Grants from the Duke Energy Foundation and the National Wildlife Federation are supporting this year’s Arbor Day festivities in honor of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs’ birthday.
Since 1982, the Wellington Garden Club has been an active part of the local community and the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs.
Wellington Garden Club membership is open to all, and meetings are held monthly, September through April, at the Wellington Community Center. The club’s motto is “Gardening Makes a World of Difference.”
To learn more about the Wellington Garden Club, visit www.wellingtongardenclub.org.
