Things are really blooming on the east side of town. And, we're not just talking about restaurants and coffee shops.
Quite literally, the Eastside Blossoms project is blanketing areas east of downtown with cherry blossoms. On March 10, the project of East Fort Worth, Inc. celebrated planting its 1,000th tree. The organization is fulfilling the wish of the late Anne and Charles Tandy.
The story goes a little something like this. As Anne's health was fading in 1978, Charles Tandy, of Tandy Corporation and RadioShack fame, told then-city manager Morris Matson about his wife's wish to plant thousands of cherry blossoms along the Trinity River. Charles died of a heart attack two days later, and wife Anne died of cancer just 14 months later.
But thanks to the retelling of the conversation between Charles and Morris that day, the vision lived. Turns out, it was a pretty good idea.
"The flowering trees create a colorful gateway to our city and support our pollinators," says Jerry Barton, Eastside Blossoms founder.
Eastside Blossoms plans to place trees 30 feet apart in the medians and on the roadside where possible along Randol Mill Road and East First Street. The total path is 7.2 miles of trees on both sides of the roads and in some cases in the medians.
The organization maintains each tree for three years until it's sustainable on its own.
The Eastside Blossoms Gala will be held on April 28. eastsideblossoms.org
