Another April storm was rolling in from the mountains, so Wayne Johnson barked orders like a drill sergeant.
The veteran tree wrangler had a big job. He was supervising 50 volunteers who were unloading nearly 1,000 trees from tractor-trailers massed at Washington Park’s maintenance yard.
“All right, the first wave is the spring snow crab apples,” Johnson said. “Over here, you guys. Put ’em right next to each other. We’ve got 55 of these. Next we’ve got the red sunset maples. Let’s go!”
Think poet Joyce “Trees” Kilmer meets John “Sands of Iwo Jima” Wayne.
It was Wednesday morning. Johnson and crew were preparing for the biggest arboreal event of the Mile High year: Saturday’s citywide tree sale and planting spree — right after Arbor Day.
For 20 years, the volunteer group Denver Digs Trees has run a campaign to beautify the city’s yards and rights of way.
Its members are responsible for planting 30,000 trees in Denver, many given free to neighborhoods in need of an injection of green. Nine neighborhoods will be beneficiaries this year.
Patrick Hayes, executive director of Denver Digs Trees, roamed the yard while dodging a John Deere tractor ferrying mulch. He eyed the crabapples, whose slim, bundled branches were covered in white blossoms.
“A lot of these trees require you to be an optimist,” Hayes said. “But these have budded out real nicely.”
The sale runs 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Congress Park, Washington Park, Babi Yar Park, Ruby Hill Park, Sloan’s Lake Park and the City of Denver Nursery. Trees top out at $65; many go for less.
The 22 species offered were selected for hardiness in our arid environment: bur oaks, hackberries, ruby red horsechestnut, Kentucky coffeetree, greenspire linden and skyline honeylocust among them.
Diversity is important. Load up on one variety, and blight could wipe out the bulk of a city’s tree canopy. Just look at what happened with America’s Eastern chestnut and Dutch elm trees.
“We want trees that survive drought, use water well, have big canopies and resist limb breakage,” said Johnson, who works at Boeing.
Larry Watson stood by like a proud parent. No wonder. He operates Plants for Today and Tomorrow, a nursery providing about a third of this year’s trees. Watson took a minute to champion their virtues.
“Oh my,” he said. “Trees provide shade and cut down on pollution and soil erosion. To say nothing of their beauty.”
This is Hayes’ sixth year running Denver Digs Trees, a program with roots in former Mayor Federico Peña’s administration in the 1980s. Peña sought to revive turn-of-the- century Denver Mayor Robert Speer’s beautification program.
“It actually just started out as a few people in garages, a neighborhood endeavor,” Hayes said. “Now we have more than 300 volunteers.”
Each year the organization, funded by grants and donations, targets a neighborhood for free tree planting. On April 26, the group will descend on Sunnyside to put 400 trees in the ground.
Kathryn Dudley wrestled more crabapples’ burlap- wrapped root balls into ranks and then stood back to assess them.
“These are beautiful specimens,” she said.
And a beautiful idea.
William Porter’s column runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at 303-954-1977 or wporter@denverpost.com.
