Passage
One Saturday in April, dozens of neighbors gathered on the bare sidewalks with shovels and buckets. They had come to plant street trees. The organizer1 a gardener who had studied city forestry marked each planting spot with a flag. By noon the crew 2 only planted six trees, but the work went faster after lunch.
Planting a tree takes more work than it looks. The volunteers dug the holes and then 3 water the young roots. The bundle of slender saplings 4 lean against the fence, waiting its turn. The 5 gardeners gloves were soon caked with mud. 6
Planting well takes a careful hand. A volunteer loosens the soil, sets the sapling upright, and 7 tamping the earth around the roots. A good start now will mean shade for the block in a decade.
Not every tree belongs on every street. Some species are better suited 8 for narrow sidewalks than others. The arborist 9 who the city sent to advise the crew pointed out the best spots. Roots need 10 room, a tree crammed against a pipe will struggle.
At first the bare street looked no different. 11 Therefore, the block soon began to feel greener. The saplings were small12 but their leaves already caught the afternoon light. Neighbors who had never met stood back to 13 look at the new row.
By late afternoon a young row of trees lined the once-bare street. Children took turns with the watering cans, and the organizer thanked the tired crew. 14 What had been a sidewalk of concrete and glare was now the start of a shaded street. 15
