Arbor Day. The name says it all…sort of.

June 7, 2022

Since 1872, this “day” has been a celebration of trees. Its birthplace is Nebraska City, NE, but it took root on both coasts and eventually propagated worldwide. Today, this holiday remains an expression of how we joyfully celebrate the planting of trees. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, Arbor Day is a day for people to come together in recognition of the wonders of trees. Communities, schools, businesses, and individuals alike join together to plant commemorative trees, hand out free trees, provide education on tree planting and care, and celebrate all the benefits trees provide.

Now, this is a holiday we can all get behind!

While it’s 150 years strong – older than most of the trees we see every day – it is surprisingly not always easy to track down this holiday on the calendar. So, when is Arbor Day, anyway? National Arbor Day is the last Friday in April, while here in Colorado, we celebrate Arbor Day on the third Friday in April. But take a look at the map and you’ll see that it changes from state to state.

For example, Arbor Day is celebrated as early as January in Louisiana and in November in Texas… and even as late as December in South Carolina. A quick internet search will tell you that the time to celebrate is flexible, and that is based on the best times to plant trees in that area.

#DenverLovesTress Photo Contest

In May, and in honor of this year-long holiday, we decided to branch out and launch a little social media competition here in Denver. The weekly winners received an Ace Hardware gift certificate, so they could celebrate Arbor Day by planting a tree when it’s convenient for them.

Look at the compilation of photos from fellow tree lovers and you’ll understand why we were stumped by which submissions to choose. It’s pretty tough to take a bad picture of something so rooted in natural beauty. But we managed to be-leaf in ourselves and eventually selected the following winners (and we’re sharing some of the runners-up, as well).

With that, we wish you a Happy Arbor Day, Denver! And remember: The best time to plant a tree may be 20 years ago, but the second-best time is today.