Fox Run Nurseries Helps Library Celebrate Arbor Day, Poetry Month

Arbor Day and National Poetry Month were jointly celebrated at Lorton Library on Saturday, April 29th. Lou Kobus, vice president of the Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association, arranged for the donation of a Quercus bicolor (Swamp White Oak) which will be installed at the entrance to the Library parking lot by Fox Run Nurseries of Alexandria.

Kobus spoke of the benefits derived from the trees and turfgrass which surround the property, and directed appreciation to Mr. Joseph Wilhelm, Fairfax County Facilities Management, and to the Quillen family and Waynesboro Nurseries for their generous gift of the tree. 

Librarian Denise Morgan introduced various members of the community who shared poems. Paula DiSalvo, Subschool Principal of South County Secondary School, read a selection from “Salute to the Trees” by Henry Van Dyke.  Rebecca Mast, representing Girl Scout Troop 1403, selected “The Tree Outside” by Annette Wynne”. And Cheryl Smith, president of Friends of Lorton Library, read “An Arbor Day Tree” (anonymous). 

Morgan selected a passage from Rudyard Kipling’s “Tree Song” to dedicate the oak, then spoke of the naming of Lorton and the growth of the community.

In conclusion Kobus talked about the America’s Anniversary Garden project and the two trees being highlighted by this quadricentennial celebration, the Cherrybark Oak and the new Jamestown Maple.