A love letter to Wrightsville Beach.
Updated: Sep 23, 2021
Joshua Tree of Wilmington recently completed a large tree pruning project. I just ran the numbers, and by my count we pruned 379 live oak trees (Quercus virginiana) for the Town of Wrightsville Beach!
Wrightsville Beach undertook a visionary tree planting program in the 1970's. They planted rows of live oaks around their municipal complex in the center of town. Today, that complex is home to city offices, sports facilities, playgrounds, an outdoor stage, and more.
The ring around the municipal complex is called Wrightsville Beach Loop. Hundreds of people walk around that loop every day: walking, jogging, biking, pushing strollers, walking dogs. It's really a lovely scene.
In addition to having the vision to plant those trees in the first place, Wrightsville Beach has done a fantastic job of taking care of their arboreal treasures over the years. The oaks had not been pruned in a while, and it was time to do so. We were pleased and honored to be the tree company trusted with that job. We met lots of super nice folks as we worked our way around The Loop. We saw a few understandably grumpy faces on the morning of day one, but by the end of our time out there, we were getting waves and "Thank you!" from almost everyone who passed by!
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." Good job, Wrightsville Beach, for having the foresight to plant those trees 50 years ago! We wish more cities would start progressive tree programs today, so that their residents could enjoy the unparalleled benefit of glorious mature tree canopies for years to come.
