City plants 100 new crepe myrtles

Published 10:48 pm Monday, April 27, 2009

A partnership between the city of Suffolk and the Suffolk Council of Garden Clubs has resulted in the planting of 100 new crepe myrtle trees in some of the city’s most visible transportation corridors.

City staff members have been working to beautify the areas alongside Suffolk’s most –trafficked roads since 1998, when the City Council decided to lend its support to the project.

But the city relies on private donations to provide the trees, and that’s where the Council of Garden Clubs comes into the picture.

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The club’s Crepe Myrtle Project allows citizens the opportunity to make a donation of their choice for a tree to honor or memorialize a loved on or special event, according to a city press release.

“Lots of trees are planted in honor of birthdays, veterans, teachers, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day,” said Debbie Chappel, a Suffolk Clean Community Commissioner and a member of the Suffolk Council on Garden Clubs. “The Suffolk citizens make it possible by continuing to support the crepe myrtle project, and it is an ongoing project.

The newest trees were planted recently near the Route 58 bypass, at the entrance to the Holland community and at the intersection of Route 460 and 58.