Trees O' Plenty

The more than 1,200 freshly planted trees that now rest along Plough Blvd. near Memphis International Airport has nothing necessarily to do with the Airport Cities Conference that is set to bring hundreds of national and international airport executives to Memphis next week.

The idea to improve the landscape around Plough, one of the main airport entrances, dates back to last spring when around 300 trees were first planted to kickoff the Aerotropolis “Greening Our Gateways” movement aimed at improving the aesthetics around the airport.

But the fact that the second and largest tree planting phase just happened to get done days before world renown transportation officials touchdown in the Bluff City isn't bothering Jim Covington, Greater Memphis Chamber vice president of logistics and Aerotropolis development.

"We've been going in this direction for some time and fortunately we are getting it done in time that we will get to show our visitors our new project and entrance into the city," he said. "Last year we did 300 and this spring we did more than 1,200. That's a lot of trees to plant."

What conference attendees and travelers will see when arriving and exiting the airport is a landscape indicative of layout throughout Memphis — green trees. And bringing that improved first impression when travelers step off a plane and travel into the city is the entire point of Greening Our Gateways.

"It's our gateway to the world and the entrance into our community," Covington said. "People who are visiting or business clients who come here, we only have one chance to make a first impression and (Plough) is going to be quite a different place with these improvements."

Work will continue beyond next week on Plough and eventually the greening project will be extended to Elvis Presley boulevard as organizers look to tackle other entrances into the airport.

And as to the sheer volume of new foliage, well Covington said it wouldn't be enough to just plant a single line of trees.

"We wanted it to be done in a way that has meaning," he said. "We wanted the trees to be grouped so if you are driving by at 60 miles per hour, it has rhythm."

-- Trey Heath