New trees spruce up city entrance

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

City horticulturist Nonna Stein prepares for watering at McMinnville’s first forested “gateway” to the city, located near The Angels Bridge.

Locals have long argued the Nursery Capital of the World could use a little sprucing up and city workers just completed a project officials hope will create a positive first impression of McMinnville.

After a year-long process of gaining approval from the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the Urban Forestry Department has created the city’s first-ever treed “gateway,” located near The Angels Bridge.
Department employees have planted 98 trees native to Tennessee they said will offer “four season interest” to people throughout the year when entering McMinnville. Among the trees are sourwoods, witch hazels, bur oaks, apple service berries, silver bells and hawthorns and others.

The gateway is one of five gateways, or entrance areas, to the city that officials have identified, and work has also started at another gateway located off the 70 Bypass and New Smithville Highway. To date, city workers have planted 108 trees in those two locations.

“The gateways are the first thing people see when they come into town and it’s nice to make a good first impression,” Urban Forester Nick Kuhn said. “The trees we’ve planted here are almost all long-lived, so these will be here 100 years from now and still doing well.”
The trees cost $9,000, but were paid for with the assistance of a state grant through the U.S. Forest Service and the Tennessee Division of Forestry. The city matched the grant with labor.

Other trees will be planted at or near the city’s three other gateways, Kuhn added, noting he has already begun the TDOT approval process for them.