Garden club begins Plant it Pink project

The Bloom & Grow Garden Society is embarking on a new project — and this one will have the whole city seeing pink.

The 25-year-old garden club is celebrating its anniversary with Plant it Pink, a campaign that aims to plant close to 300 Pink Trumpet trees throughout the city in the next 12 months.

The project, which kicked off Monday, June 20, has been dedicated to Winter Garden Mayor John Rees “in recognition of his love of trees and his extraordinary service to our beloved community of Winter Garden.”

Three trees, also called Handroanthus impetiginosus or Pink Tabebuia, were planted during last week’s ceremony in the park at Jessie Brock Community Center. These plants honor the partnership between the garden society and the city of Winter Garden.

Special guests included the mayor, city officials and staff, members of the garden club and a 10-year-old boy who is fascinated with nature.

Nathan Goldstein was invited to the ceremony after he shared his love of trees during a walking tour of the Winter Garden Heritage Tree Project. Nathan likes to read tree identification books and has propagated many trees, including yellow and pink Tabebuias.

Club members presented a certificate to the mayor after the trees were in the ground.

“In Washington D.C., spring bursts into bloom with cherry blossoms,” the certificate read. “It is hoped that Winter Garden will burst into bloom in early spring with bright pink trumpet flowers.”

The vase-shaped Pink Trumpet tree, native to Mexico and South America, has pink flowers and grows up to 30 feet tall.

The Bloom & Grow Garden Society plans to plant the ceremonial Pink Trumpet trees in major locations around Winter Garden. 

The first tree will be planted for the city of Winter Garden, a partner of the society for the past 25 years. The second tree will be planted at the Duke Energy Headquarters in Winter Garden. The third group of trees will be planted at local health care facilities in October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The yearlong campaign includes the planting of the colorful trees at Winter Garden-area schools. The trees pay tribute to the graduating classes at Citrus, Dillard Street, Lake Whitney, Maxey, Tildenville, Water Spring and Whispering Oak elementaries; Bridgewater and Lakeview middle schools; Horizon and Windermere high schools; and Foundation Academy.

Bloom & Grow donated the tree, fertilizer tablets to nourish the tree for two years and a “tree diaper” to help with water retention and mulch. The planting team worked with students to plant the tree in a special ceremony designed by each school.

In addition, the society presented students with a unique card that offers congratulations, gives information about the tree and shares an inspirational message, “Advice from a Tree."

Duke Energy is a sponsor of the society and the project and has helped purchase the trees for planting and the tree giveaway, as well as the printed materials.

Information on Plant it Pink is available at BloomandGrow.club. Winter Garden residents also can visit the website to register for a free three-gallon tree, to be delivered in October.

Bloom & Grow hosts a project each year. In 2020, 1,000 bald cypress trees were planted at Tucker Ranch. Last year, the club created the heritage tree walk.