For a few years now, the City Forestry section has been promising new trees for Dufferin Grove Park (so that it will remain a grove for the next generation). Last fall it didn’t happen, and this spring it almost happened but they were too busy with other plantings. Forestry planner Uyen Dias has now sent word that this fall the park will for sure get its twenty-five new trees. The species are: Freeman Maples, Red Maples, Sugar Maples, White Oaks, Bur Oaks, and Red Oaks. These will be trees with pretty big root balls.

The park has trees in all its community-planted native-species areas. Some of them were tiny when they went in but have now – ten or less years later – become very tall. There is a twenty-foot trembling aspen in the “Little Tree Nursery” south of the field house. It may have arrived when a bird flew over – nobody planted it. The three black walnut trees in the “Remembering Garrison Creek” garden at the southwest corner are full of walnuts this year for the first time. The swamp willow on the hill near the marsh fountain is another mystery tree – it just appeared there as a two-foot bush about five years ago. Now it’s tall and, well, willowy.

The two black maples donated by Mary Wigle in memory of Ziggy Kapsa, planted near the cob courtyard, are looking strong and healthy, as are the four silver maples planted south of the wading pool just last year.

There are also two other new maples, each with a donor inscription. Last year one of those maples almost died in the drought, and the recreation staff had to water it back to life. This year the weather was so wet that all the trees look happy. A request: if anyone knows the story of those two donated Freeman maples – who gave those to the park, and what’s their story? – please let the park staff know. People ask about those trees but the park staff don’t know what to tell them.

Ziggy Kapsa memorial trees