Plant a Tree for Arbor Day at Harvest Green, April 30

Residents of Houston’s first farm-centric development and the public will help the community take root — literally — in celebration of Arbor Day as they plant citrus trees in Harvest Green.

The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, April 30, and is in keeping with the first Arbor Day celebration in 1872. Then J. Sterling Morton, Secretary of Nebraska Territory, and a former journalist who wrote about the importance of trees to agriculture, founded a day devoted to planting saplings. One million trees were planted on that first Arbor Day, which quickly grew into a nationwide observance. 

While it is unlikely that a million trees will be sowed in Harvest Green during its Arbor Day event, the trees that are planted will provide both shade and fruit to community residents for years to come. The event is free, and visitors are encouraged to tour Harvest Green ‘s 11 model homes and the community’s Village Farm, where residents can grow their own produce on individual plots.

 Harvest Green’s professional farmers already have planted a variety of vegetables including lettuce, carrots, cabbage, broccoli and snow peas on 2.5 fenced acres near the community’s model home park.

The farm is just one of the many amenities Harvest Green residents enjoy. The community also offers 30 acres of lakes and waterways, 280 acres of greenbelts and open spaces, 50 acres of parkland, a walkable trail system and a central roundabout. A planned recreation center will have a pool, fitness center and an amphitheater overlooking the lake. Year-round events, such as the Arbor Day planting, are planned by a full-time lifestyle director. 

The Arbor Day celebration also is an event on the Houston’s Largest Home Tour calendar. The tour, sponsored by Harvest Green developer Johnson Development Corp., encourages the public to visit hundreds of homes, including 120 models, in Johnson communities throughout Houston.

 For more information about the home tour and the community visit www.houstonhometour.com.