The Trinity Oak, quercus imbricaria, was planted on Trinity’s front lawn and dedicated on June 18, 2000, the first Sunday of Pentecost. The planting of the memorial oak was made possible by the donations of many parishioners in memory and in honor of family and friends, and in some cases as open donations. The tree is part of the celebration of the church’s 275th birthday and with proper care will be on the lawn for decades and perhaps even hundreds of years to come.

Quercus imbricaria was chosen for its length of life, mature shape in relation to the church lawn, its tolerance of the soil conditions and its hardiness in Connecticut. Known colloquially as the “shingle oak,” quercus imbricaria grows 50’ high and 40’ wide. It has glossy dark green oval leaves, which turn russet red in the autumn, similar to the leaves of the red and white oaks that are familiar to most people in Connecticut. It is one of the very best of the oaks. Its lustrous leaves are similar in shape to the mountain laurel, although somewhat longer, and have a russet fall color. There are many excellent reasons why it should be used much more in landscape work than it is at present.

Stewartia Pseudocamellia planted in memory of
Jane Luke Murphy

Trees that grow slowly such as oaks live to far greater ages than trees which grow quickly, since the trunks and branches are heavier and tend to be far less brittle and the roots far deeper than trees that shoot up, such as birches and maples. Oaks have deep taproots, which is why they live to such great ages.  

The oak joins the acer saccharum given in memory of Alice Taylor Lovejoy, the zelkova serrata given in memory of long-time sexton Mike Chueka, the prunus serrulata v. Kwanzan given in memory of the Rev. James Arnold, and the Stewartia pseudocamellia given in memory of Jane Luke Murphy. The trees in the Memorial Garden also qualify as memorial trees because they were planted with the money donated for the garden in memory of members of parishioner’s families. These trees are three malus Zumi (ornamental crabapple), a koelreuteria (golden rain tree, blooming in late June) in the front of the garden nearest the front of the church, and a styrax japonica (japanese snowbell) planted in the back left corner, which blooms in early June.

The oak, maple, and zelkova are all long-lived trees, particularly the oak, and the ornamentals less so. At one time, the lawn at Trinity had a number of beautiful old shade trees, primarily maples and elms, which perished from Dutch elm disease. These can be seen in old photographs and etchings of the church. With proper care, feeding, watering and pruning and in due course, cabling, the new trees should all give Trinity’s parishioners many years of shade and pleasure just as the old ones did.