Finally spring has officially sprung in Signal Mountain as of March 20, known as the Spring Equinox. Other “springs” follow right behind: Spring Break, Spring Fever, Spring Training Camp ...
In other words, it’s time to spring outdoors.
The annual Spring Tree Giveaway in Signal Mountain is April 4. The Signal Mountain Tree Board provides persimmon, white oak, bald cypress, and Shumard oak whips from the Tennessee Division of Forestry this year. Signal Mountain qualifies for this program as a Tree City USA, one of around 4,000 cities/towns in the United States and has for sixteen years.
Did you know? The forestry term “whips” refers to the slender, unbranched shoots or plants that are 1-3 years old?
Did you miss this year’s giveaway? There will be another Tree Board tree giveaway in the fall. Last year it was red maple saplings, provided by Luke Holliday, certified arborist from Bartlett Tree Experts.
It’s easy to get accustomed to the trees surrounding us and forget what all they offer. Have you stopped by Signal Point recently and just appreciated the trees?
Did you know? In 2010 Signal Mountain had a 73.5 percent tree canopy, according to a report by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Tennessee as a whole had a 53 percent tree canopy. Compare that to a state like Nebraska with 3 percent. However, keep in mind that was 16 years ago. SM Tree Board member Jordan Gianos points out that i-Tree online, funded until recently by the U.S. Forestry Service, today shows a tree canopy of about 65 percent in Signal Mountain.
A tree canopy is usually measured as a percentage of land area covered by tree crowns (the entire top portion).
Looking to the future, the Signal Mountain Town Council - joining many other towns and cities - passed an ordinance in 2024 directing only native trees and plants be placed on town-owned property. Why is that? Native plants and trees are adapted to local climate and soil conditions, thus minimizing maintenance costs and, aside from non-native invasions, the need for chemical applications.
Did you know? A recommended species list is on the town website for residents wanting to go native, too. See under Town Council & Boards/Tree Board at signalmountaintn.gov.
Interesting fact: Oak trees support the highest number of caterpillar species of any plant on the East Coast. Caterpillars equal good.
For the town, eradicating non-native invasive trees and plants is a goal as well as replanting with the all-important natives. Common invasives include kudzu, Bradford pear trees, nandina, privet, English ivy, multiflora rose, liriope and vinca. There’s more. What’s in your yard?
Meanwhile a major skirmish is ongoing in Signal Mountain. Human versus the invasive hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA) insect.
Hemlocks are a keystone tree in significant danger from this insect, which was unfortunately imported to this country. The hemlocks require active insecticide treatment (or the release of predatory beetles) to survive.
What is a keystone tree? It’s a native tree that plays a critical role in support of the local ecosystem. Think Rainbow Lake Trail, Patten Park between Green Gorge and Ravine Drive, and the woods at McCoy Farm, besides private residences throughout the area.
Left untreated, an infested hemlock tree will probably die within five years. The SM Tree Board began the effort to save the hemlocks in Signal in 2013. The board provided the first privately funded predator beetle release in the state at Rainbow Lake. In 2014 one thousand Laricobius negrinis were released at a cost of $3 per beetle, with funds donated by citizens.
Did you know? Two heroes from the Signal Mountain area are environmentalist and long-time SMTB member Barbara Womack and Rob Richie, head of the Hemlock Conservation Task Force, who continue to tirelessly volunteer to use the insecticide treatment to save the trees in the area.
Some good news: Did you know an approximately 289-year-old Tennessee state tree lives in Lena Givens Park and is designated a Landmark Tree by the town council? This tulip poplar has survived various wall and road constructions besides human interventions around it in its long history. (And, if you didn’t know, Lena Givens was a conservationist and president of the Garden Club of Signal Mountain in 1948.) The park is at the intersection of Ridgeway and Mississippi avenues, near James Park, across from CVC. Look for the colorfully lettered sign for the tree.
Landmark trees were listed when the SM Tree Board sponsored the Centennial Tree Program in 2019 during the search for trees that were growing at the town’s founding in 1919. An oak tree in Old Town on private property was also named the oldest along with the town’s tulip poplar.
Did you know an outside visit to the MACC, 809 Kentucky Ave., is well worth it? Tucked away in a corner of the landscape is the Children’s Teaching Garden, funded by a grant from the Hamilton County Department of Health in 2024. With a focus on promoting healthy eating habits, it demonstrates to children where good-for-you food originates. The garden also serves as a resource for educators and is available for summer camps, homeschool groups, and preschool activities.
Did you know? The teaching garden isn’t just for children. SMTB member Paige Taylor pointed out that adults can utilize the garden library to read a nature-related book to their children/grandchildren while enjoying the garden. Then they might plant a seed at the potting shed to take home and watch grow.
Did you know the garden’s custom birdbath was crafted by former SMTB member Jennifer Boyd at the MACC pottery studio?
If you would like to help maintain the garden, email the SM Tree Board at [email protected].
While outside at the MACC, don’t miss the pollinator garden installed in 2021 by the Garden Club of Signal Mountain, with Diane Ryder as president. It’s dedicated to attracting bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. And keep in mind, a garden is always a work in progress.
Have you been in Signal Mountain Town Hall in a while? If you happen to be there, take a look at the posters for the annual Arbor Day observance in October by fifth-graders at Signal Mountain grade schools. Among the heroes helping fifth-graders plant trees at each of the three grade schools for 2025 Arbor Day was SMTB ex-officio member Joe Horton, who explained the importance of the steps of planting. However, it takes a village: Heroes from Signal Mountain Public Works dug those large holes and EPB’s Ryne Frazier provided the trees.
McCoy Farm is down the road a bit on Taft Highway or Ridgeway (Taft for the broader highway designation and Ridgeway Avenue for the residential section), aka as just Highway 127 for the annual yard sale folk in August.
At McCoy Farm there are honeybees. According to beekeeper Mary Aho, the bees are there year-around, but the hives aren’t opened until the temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees F. (usually in March). Once it’s warmer, observers may find early afternoon to early evening the most active period for bee foragers returning home. The hives can be observed safely from a short distance, but standing directly in front of the entrance should be avoided so the bees have a clear flight path, Aho said.
Did you know? Honeybees aren’t actually native to North America, however; they were introduced sometime around the 1600s. Native Americans with a sweet tooth primarily had wild berries or syrup from maple trees.
Not far from the bees at McCoy Farm is a three-bed pollinator garden that features native perennial species. Honeybees, butterflies, pretty flowers … what is not to like?
According to Melissa Nimon, executive director of McCoy Farm and Gardens, there are 72 identified tree species there.
Did you know many of the trees along the trails at McCoy have signage indicating both their common and scientific name plus area/country of origin? It’s a mixed bag of native and non-native and fun to find differences.
Strong as oaks, busy as bees, pretty like blossoms in spring. It’s all around Signal Mountain.
Do you know your part in all of this?
Reach out to [email protected] for questions and comments.
by Judith Pierson
In other words, it’s time to spring outdoors.
The annual Spring Tree Giveaway in Signal Mountain is April 4. The Signal Mountain Tree Board provides persimmon, white oak, bald cypress, and Shumard oak whips from the Tennessee Division of Forestry this year. Signal Mountain qualifies for this program as a Tree City USA, one of around 4,000 cities/towns in the United States and has for sixteen years.
Did you know? The forestry term “whips” refers to the slender, unbranched shoots or plants that are 1-3 years old?
Did you miss this year’s giveaway? There will be another Tree Board tree giveaway in the fall. Last year it was red maple saplings, provided by Luke Holliday, certified arborist from Bartlett Tree Experts.
It’s easy to get accustomed to the trees surrounding us and forget what all they offer. Have you stopped by Signal Point recently and just appreciated the trees?
Did you know? In 2010 Signal Mountain had a 73.5 percent tree canopy, according to a report by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Tennessee as a whole had a 53 percent tree canopy. Compare that to a state like Nebraska with 3 percent. However, keep in mind that was 16 years ago. SM Tree Board member Jordan Gianos points out that i-Tree online, funded until recently by the U.S. Forestry Service, today shows a tree canopy of about 65 percent in Signal Mountain.
A tree canopy is usually measured as a percentage of land area covered by tree crowns (the entire top portion).
Looking to the future, the Signal Mountain Town Council - joining many other towns and cities - passed an ordinance in 2024 directing only native trees and plants be placed on town-owned property. Why is that? Native plants and trees are adapted to local climate and soil conditions, thus minimizing maintenance costs and, aside from non-native invasions, the need for chemical applications.
Did you know? A recommended species list is on the town website for residents wanting to go native, too. See under Town Council & Boards/Tree Board at signalmountaintn.gov.
Interesting fact: Oak trees support the highest number of caterpillar species of any plant on the East Coast. Caterpillars equal good.
For the town, eradicating non-native invasive trees and plants is a goal as well as replanting with the all-important natives. Common invasives include kudzu, Bradford pear trees, nandina, privet, English ivy, multiflora rose, liriope and vinca. There’s more. What’s in your yard?
Meanwhile a major skirmish is ongoing in Signal Mountain. Human versus the invasive hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA) insect.
Hemlocks are a keystone tree in significant danger from this insect, which was unfortunately imported to this country. The hemlocks require active insecticide treatment (or the release of predatory beetles) to survive.
What is a keystone tree? It’s a native tree that plays a critical role in support of the local ecosystem. Think Rainbow Lake Trail, Patten Park between Green Gorge and Ravine Drive, and the woods at McCoy Farm, besides private residences throughout the area.
Left untreated, an infested hemlock tree will probably die within five years. The SM Tree Board began the effort to save the hemlocks in Signal in 2013. The board provided the first privately funded predator beetle release in the state at Rainbow Lake. In 2014 one thousand Laricobius negrinis were released at a cost of $3 per beetle, with funds donated by citizens.
Did you know? Two heroes from the Signal Mountain area are environmentalist and long-time SMTB member Barbara Womack and Rob Richie, head of the Hemlock Conservation Task Force, who continue to tirelessly volunteer to use the insecticide treatment to save the trees in the area.
Some good news: Did you know an approximately 289-year-old Tennessee state tree lives in Lena Givens Park and is designated a Landmark Tree by the town council? This tulip poplar has survived various wall and road constructions besides human interventions around it in its long history. (And, if you didn’t know, Lena Givens was a conservationist and president of the Garden Club of Signal Mountain in 1948.) The park is at the intersection of Ridgeway and Mississippi avenues, near James Park, across from CVC. Look for the colorfully lettered sign for the tree.
Landmark trees were listed when the SM Tree Board sponsored the Centennial Tree Program in 2019 during the search for trees that were growing at the town’s founding in 1919. An oak tree in Old Town on private property was also named the oldest along with the town’s tulip poplar.
Did you know an outside visit to the MACC, 809 Kentucky Ave., is well worth it? Tucked away in a corner of the landscape is the Children’s Teaching Garden, funded by a grant from the Hamilton County Department of Health in 2024. With a focus on promoting healthy eating habits, it demonstrates to children where good-for-you food originates. The garden also serves as a resource for educators and is available for summer camps, homeschool groups, and preschool activities.
Did you know? The teaching garden isn’t just for children. SMTB member Paige Taylor pointed out that adults can utilize the garden library to read a nature-related book to their children/grandchildren while enjoying the garden. Then they might plant a seed at the potting shed to take home and watch grow.
Did you know the garden’s custom birdbath was crafted by former SMTB member Jennifer Boyd at the MACC pottery studio?
If you would like to help maintain the garden, email the SM Tree Board at [email protected].
While outside at the MACC, don’t miss the pollinator garden installed in 2021 by the Garden Club of Signal Mountain, with Diane Ryder as president. It’s dedicated to attracting bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. And keep in mind, a garden is always a work in progress.
Have you been in Signal Mountain Town Hall in a while? If you happen to be there, take a look at the posters for the annual Arbor Day observance in October by fifth-graders at Signal Mountain grade schools. Among the heroes helping fifth-graders plant trees at each of the three grade schools for 2025 Arbor Day was SMTB ex-officio member Joe Horton, who explained the importance of the steps of planting. However, it takes a village: Heroes from Signal Mountain Public Works dug those large holes and EPB’s Ryne Frazier provided the trees.
McCoy Farm is down the road a bit on Taft Highway or Ridgeway (Taft for the broader highway designation and Ridgeway Avenue for the residential section), aka as just Highway 127 for the annual yard sale folk in August.
At McCoy Farm there are honeybees. According to beekeeper Mary Aho, the bees are there year-around, but the hives aren’t opened until the temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees F. (usually in March). Once it’s warmer, observers may find early afternoon to early evening the most active period for bee foragers returning home. The hives can be observed safely from a short distance, but standing directly in front of the entrance should be avoided so the bees have a clear flight path, Aho said.
Did you know? Honeybees aren’t actually native to North America, however; they were introduced sometime around the 1600s. Native Americans with a sweet tooth primarily had wild berries or syrup from maple trees.
Not far from the bees at McCoy Farm is a three-bed pollinator garden that features native perennial species. Honeybees, butterflies, pretty flowers … what is not to like?
According to Melissa Nimon, executive director of McCoy Farm and Gardens, there are 72 identified tree species there.
Did you know many of the trees along the trails at McCoy have signage indicating both their common and scientific name plus area/country of origin? It’s a mixed bag of native and non-native and fun to find differences.
Strong as oaks, busy as bees, pretty like blossoms in spring. It’s all around Signal Mountain.
Do you know your part in all of this?
Reach out to [email protected] for questions and comments.
by Judith Pierson
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