We are now accepting donations online via PayPal! By clicking on this link – PayPal – you can conveniently donate by logging in to your PayPal account and using the “Send money” function. By choosing “Send to a friend” the transaction is free to both you and Friends of Greenlawn. If you do not have an account, they’re free to create from PayPal’s website (same link as above).
Please use our email address – friendsofgreenlawn@gmail.com – when donating through PayPal.
We also are still accepting donations through the mail. More information about that can be found by clicking on the “Donate” link at the top of our homepage.
(Note:we are working on getting a PayPal button onto the site that will make it easier to donate this way without all the extra steps. We thank you for your patience and will update as soon as that happens.)
If you visited our table at the Salem Arts Festival on Saturday, June 8th, 2019 and you were the lucky recipient of a tree seedling, then you’re in the right place. This post contains important planting and care instructions for your baby Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera) or Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea).
Shameless plug here for Greenlawn’s Tree Inventory Map but I promise it’s relevant – if you’d like to see what these seedlings have the potential to grow up to be, come by the cemetery to check out mature specimens of Tuliptree and Scarlet Oak. Use the map to find each tree’s location within the cemetery.
Tree Planting & Care Guide
This information pertains to both species of trees given out at the festival.
The seedling you have received came from the Arbor Day Foundation and so their instructions for planting and care are what is recommended and linked to below. Also, both tree species offered as seedlings are native to Massachusetts and other selected areas of New England and as such should fare well if planted locally.
Comprehensive Tree Planting & Care Guide – this link provides all the information you will need to know in order to plant your seedling and help it to grow strong and tall in the years to come; Arbor Day Foundation also provides video instruction on how to care for your seedling; feel free to click around and learn as there’s a ton of information here that will help you and your tree on your new journey together.
Bare root planting guide – the seedlings you received are what is known as “bare root trees” meaning that instead of being in soil with a root system balled up into a burlap sack or a container, the roots are free and simply dipped into a hydrating gel that keeps the roots moist until planting; the main planting & care guide provides all sorts of information for all three types of prepared seedlings/saplings but this link is specifically for the seedlings you received from us at the Salem Arts Festival. If you are in need of an easily printable version of the planting guide for bare root trees, Arbor Day Foundation provides a downloadable PDF copy – they link to it at the top of their bare root planting guide page.
Tuliptree leaf in waning autumn colors with a bit of the parent tree’s bark in the right background; photo taken in late October 2013
Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
Here’s some more information about Tuliptrees from the Arbor Day Foundation and a few other handy plant databases.
Go Botany’s listing for Tuliptree – this website is actually a database project headed up by the Native Plant Trust (formerly known as the New England Wildflower Society) with support from the National Science Foundation; Go Botany’s main site is also an excellent resource for information on native and naturalized trees (and other plants) growing within the six New England states (MA, ME, NH, CT, RI, VT); plenty of photos with each species listing to oogle at and use to help identify unknown specimens.
Virginia Tech’s Dendrology Fact Sheet for Tuliptree – this is a direct link to the fact sheet for Tuliptree; the parent siteoffers a lot of useful information on trees with a fact sheet database for over 450 different tree species as well as a handy tree ID app for Android and iOS.
USDA’s PLANTS Database page on Tuliptree – this is the listing in the national database run by the US Dept. of Agriculture; each species listing page also provides downloadable fact sheets in PDF form for that species, as well as photos, conservation status, maps, and information on how it benefits local wildlife.
The rich autumnal coloring of the aptly named Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea); photo taken in late October 2013
Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea)
Here’s some more information about Scarlet Oaks from the Arbor Day Foundation and a few other handy plant databases. Databases below are the same as ones mentioned above, only this time the links bring you directly to the Scarlet Oak listings (and not the listings for Tuliptrees).
We will be hanging out at the Salem Arts Festival this weekend, Saturday June 8th only, from 11:00AM – 6:00PM. We will be giving away Tuliptree and Scarlet Oak seedlings to help promote awareness of the ongoing effort to obtain Level I arboretum accreditation through for Greenlawn Cemetery. We will also be offering our t-shirts for sale in support of the restoration efforts on the Dickson Memorial Chapel located within the cemetery grounds.
Have you ever taken a walk through Greenlawn and noticed a gorgeous scarlet-leafed oak by the side of the road a short ways past the Orne St gates? Or perhaps you were strolling by Fountain Pond, enjoying the sounds of its namesake fountain, only to look up and wonder why there appeared to be white tulips perched high overhead in a tree? The seedlings we’re handing out tomorrow aren’t just any random tree species – they are actually two of the many different species growing within Greenlawn Cemetery.
Come on down and say hello to us tomorrow (Sat, June 8th) — our table will be located right near the Lobster Shanty on Front St in Salem, MA. It’s going to be a beautiful day and we hope to see you there.
European Larch (Larix decidua), located in Greenlawn Cemetery
Tomorrow morning at 9:30AM Dr. Lisa Delissio and her students will be meeting at Greenlawn Cemetery to work on completing the ArbNet application for Level I arboretum accreditation. This is a collaboration between Salem State University, the city of Salem, and Friends of Greenlawn and the more hands helping, the better! Please come and join us in front of the cemetery office just inside the Orne St entrance.
Again, this event is happening *tomorrow*, Wednesday, May 29th at 9:30AM.
Historic Salem is celebrating 75 years of historic preservation within the city of Salem this year with an event at the Hawthorne Hotel this Sunday, June 2, 2019. Since their inception 75 years ago, they have been helping groups like the Friends of Greenlawn and many others in our efforts to help restore and preserve Salem’s historic treasures so that they’re not lost forever. Please join us in this celebration!
Event Details:
Date: Sun, June 2, 2019 Time: begins at 6:00PM Where: Hawthorne Hotel, 18 Washington Sq W, Salem, MA Cost: $75.00 per ticket for Historic Salem members & Christmas in Salem volunteers; $100.00 per ticket for non-members; tickets can be purchased through Historic Salem’s website here: https://www.historicsalem.org/hsi-75th-anniversary-celebration.html More information: this is an event being hosted by Historic Salem, so they’re the best ones to contact if you have any questions about the event that have not been covered here or on their event page. Their contact information can be found here: https://www.historicsalem.org/contact-us.html
The Friends of Greenlawn would like to wish you a happy Memorial Day!
To celebrate all that our armed forces men and women have sacrificed in their service, the city of Salem will be having a parade tomorrow, Monday, May 27th, that will wrap up with a ceremony held in Greenlawn Cemetery and followed by a gathering at the VFW on Derby St afterwards. We hope to see you there as we celebrate our veterans.
Memorial Day Details:
Date: Monday, May 27th (tomorrow!)
10:30AM – the parade will depart from Commercial St in Salem; free trolley rides will be available for any veteran who is unable to march
11:00AM – the ceremony with honored guests will be held at Greenlawn Cemetery, at the Civil War Monument located near the Liberty Hill Ave cemetery gate
12:30PM (approximately) – Collation at the VFW at 95 Derby St; all are welcome to attend
This year we are celebrating the 125th anniversary of the gifting of the Dickson Memorial Chapel to the city of Salem by Walter Scott Dickson himself as an eternal memorial to his wife, Georgia.
Date: Sat, May 18, 2019 Time: 10:00AM-1:00PM (Chapel opens for viewing at 10AM, program starts at 10:30AM) Where: Greenlawn Cemetery, 57 Orne St, Salem, MA – please meet in front of the office just inside the Orne St entrance What to bring: yourself and any friends and neighbors interested! 🙂
Good morning! The weather was a bit wet this past Saturday and as such, the Guided Bird Walk will be offered again this Saturday, May 11th, from 7:00AM-9:00AM.
!! Again, just for this event, we ask that there be no dogs or children under the age of 10 years old due to the nature of this event. !!
Date: Sat, May 11, 2019 Time: 7:00AM-9:00AM Where: Greenlawn Cemetery, 57 Orne St, Salem, MA – please meet in front of the office just inside the Orne St entrance What to bring: binoculars (if you have them), friends, neighbors, yourself! 🙂
The bark of a Littleleaf Linden (Tilia cordata) located within Greenlawn Cemetery
Dr. Lisa Delissio and her students from Salem State University are going to be at Greenlawn Cemetery tomorrow, May 1st, making their final preparations for seeking Level I accreditation for the cemetery through ArbNet’s Arboretum Accreditation Program. Please join them at the front office just inside the Orne St entrance at 1:15PM.
Date: Wed, May 1, 2019 (tomorrow!)
Time: starts at 1:15PM
Where: Greenlawn Cemetery, 57 Orne St, Salem, MA; please meet in front of the office just inside the Orne St entrance What to bring: Yourself and anybody else you know of that loves trees and other woody plants!
