A gaggle of tree-lovers descended on Silver Hill on Saturday morning, August 27th. They surrounded a tree at the end of Silver Avenue at Sycamore, and one of them held forth to tell the tale of the Silver Hill landscaping project of 2004-05.
In the photo, above, gesturing, is Michael Melendrez, owner of Trees That Please in Los Lunas and the guiding force behind the replanting of the Silver Avenue median 17 years ago. He was leading a flock of members of the International Oak Society, a global group of admirers of Oak Trees. Melendrez and his partner Anna Forester were kicking off a tour of the trees of New Mexico. First stop, Silver Avenue.
The gang was traveling in two long white vans to various other oak havens in New Mexico (including Gila National Forest), heading eventually to the 10th annual International Oak Society conference, being held this week over four days in Las Cruces. The event was expected to draw attendees from all over the United States and beyond. A post-conference tour is planned for southwest New Mexico and Arizona “in search of Q. toumeyi, Q. palmeri and many others,” ending up at the Grand Canyon
Melendrez told the group how the old trees — examples of which they could still see directly west along the property of Presbyterian Hospital — were uprooted in 2004, and he worked with the Silver Hill Neighborhood Association and Bernalillo County to plant the varied strains of trees that have matured during the past 17 years.