Crocheron Park benefited from an extensive tree planting project maybe about 10-15 years, shown on  the attached map of the Park. John Golden Park is the focus of this conceptual plan because it has not  seen any new plantings in a very long time. Bud O’Rourke Playground, adjacent to the Park and P.S. 41,  has in recent years been hit hard by windstorms that have downed many of its trees. Because the  playground is now looking rather barren of trees, this conceptual plan proposes the replanting of three  empty tree pits there. 

Some of the mass planting sites might lend themselves to the installation of shrub groups. For example,  Site #3 at the east end of the parking lot in the park is where a few old Hawthorn trees forlornly stand in  a compacted dirt island between two asphalt pathways. This location in the center of the Park could be  beautified with shrub planting protected by low welded wire fences. The attached view of such fencing in Central Park shows how beds of shrubbery can be protected. Another picture from The Ramble in  Central Park illustrates the same fence being used to protect tree plantings.

This conceptual plan also proposes potential sites for mass tree and shrub plantings. Most of the mass  planting sites are in Golden Park behind the backstops of the four baseball diamonds. My highest  priority sites would be sites #8, 9 and 10 under “Potential mass planting sites.” Site #8 is especially  barren because a Norway Maple and Kentucky Coffee Tree both went down recently in that area. Site #9 is in the vicinity of the very old magnolia trees which are next to the flagpole and comfort station.  Those old magnolias could be joined by some young magnolia tree plantings to add to that grove. Site #10 just behind the ball field back stop is also a very open area suitable for specimen tree planting. One  of the Park’s American Elm trees stood there before it died of Dutch Elm disease. Planting a new disease  resistant elm would bring back that majestic tree to the park. 

This conceptual plan suggests possible species for specimen trees, evergreen trees, understory trees and  shrubs. These suggestions are made in the spirit of adding diversity to the Park’s vegetation. The large  planting effort in Crocheron maybe a decade ago brought large numbers of species like Red Bud, Willow  Oak and Amelanchier to the Park. This new planting effort primarily in Golden should bring new species  to the Park. Diversity in species adds to the Park’s interest and serves an ecological function since a  vegetative monoculture or depauperate ecosystem is vulnerable to attacks by pests or disease. Native  species with value for wildlife should be used whenever possible to add to that ecological function. 

The Parks Department’s topographic survey for the southern part of Crocheron Park, dated November 5,  1934, lists trees and some shrubs that existed in the Park at that time. Some of them such as Beech,  Spruce and Walnut are no longer living in the Park. Bringing them back would help to restore species  diversity.