The Howard Hughes Corp. (HHC) and Blossoms of Hope are joining forces to plant 100 pink-blossoming trees in Downtown Columbia. The first plantings took place on Oct. 31 in the Merriweather District adjacent to the Two Merriweather office building.
The planting is intended to maximize and draw attention to the natural beauty of Downtown Columbia by lining the streets with flowering trees from the Merriweather District to the Lake Kittamaqundi Lakefront. This year’s planting of 65 Native Dogwood and 35 Kwanzan Cherry trees is the first initiative of a partnership between HHC and Blossoms of Hope.
“Blossoms of Hope is extremely excited to work with The Howard Hughes Corporation in bringing pink to Columbia,” said Joe Barbera, Blossoms’ board chair. “Over the past 12 years, as part of our mission to help beautify Howard County, we have planted more than 2,000 cherry and dogwood trees, including saplings from the original cherry trees in Washington, D.C. Bringing the trees to Columbia is a great way to help refresh downtown and the region in general.
“In addition, the proceeds from the trees will help to benefit the Claudia Mayer/Tina Broccolino Cancer Resource Center and other local charities,” said Barbera. “Over the past 12 years, Blossoms has donated more than $325,000 to the center, Ellicott City flood victims and other local causes.”
The trees, provided by Country Springs Wholesale in Lisbon, will be planted by Howard EcoWorks, a nonprofit with a mission to build a workforce to undertake environmental improvement projects in Howard County. During the next 20 years, HHC has committed to planting 10,000 trees of various kinds throughout Columbia and elsewhere in Howard County.