So here's the short of it, 
New trees for the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

And here's the long.

Mom and I went to the Cemetery today.  Mom made a bouquet using things from her property and a neighbor.  It was absolutely as pretty as anything that she could have found at a store!  It had severa; shades of greenery, some holly with beautiful bright red berries, and  some gorgeous pink Camillas from a bush Dad had planted.

When we arrived at the Cemetery, there were people swarming all over the place.  It didn't take long for us to figure out that lots of the folks there were young people. It turns out that we had arrived not long after the tree planting had begun.  Here's the article from the Chattanoogan.com about the plans for the tree planting.

Chattanooga National Cemetery To Get New Trees

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Dozens of volunteers will gather at Chattanooga National Cemetery on Holtzclaw Avenue, beginning at 9 a.m. this Saturday, to plant about 80 new trees.

 

"The National Cemetery was once almost completely shaded with big beautiful trees," said Noah Long, coordinator of the tree planting and past chair of the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council (CAVC).  "In the past five years over 110 trees, including 55 in the last two and a half years alone, have been lost due to storms and age.

“Many of the trees in the cemetery are 100 to 125 years old and are reaching the end of their normal lifespans.  The replacement trees will help preserve the feeling of serenity throughout the cemetery for the next century,” he said.

 

The CAVC was instrumental in gaining Federal approval for the trees to be planted and is co-sponsoring the effort with the City of Chattanooga Urban Forestry Division.   

 

The trees, which were provided by the Urban Forestry Division through a foundation grant, are two to three inches in diameter and stand 10 to 12 feet tall.  The selection includes 17 different species native to Chattanooga such as Oak, Tulip Popular, Redbud, Dogwood, Linden, Eastern Cedar, American Elm, Birch, Holly, and Magnolia.

 

The volunteers include patriotic individuals as well as members from various veteran, civic and patriotic organizations such as Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 203, American Legion Post 95, JROTC units from Soddy Daisy and East Ridge, Girl Scouts, Knights of Columbus, Garden Clubs, as well as members of the Navy Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve.

Individuals or groups interested in participating in future tree plantings may contact Noah Long at 423 886-3820 or “noahlong.mil@gmail.com”