Several months ago, the Doral Municipal Council approved planting numerous trees with yellow (or golden) flowers, progressively transforming the city’s parks and streets with a “golden ambiance” similar to the white and pink cherry blossoms of Washington D.C.
Drawing on the legendary search for El Dorado, the “City of Gold” sought by Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century, the project settled on Tabebuia tropical trees to support the city image as ‘Golden Doral,” a new “City of Gold” in Florida.
Thus a variety of Tabebuia (well known in South Florida as “Yellow Oak”) and Tabebuia chrisantha were chosen for city streets. Both grow healthily in local soil and climate and in spring, blossom with a glorious outburst of golden trumpet-like flowers from nearly every twig.
Further consultations with arborists and urban forestry experts led to even more diversity to plant other species with yellow flowers as well as various species of shrubs and bushes, completing a cityscape of greenery and an overhead canopy of blossoming gold each year during springtime.
Additional species for plantings include.Vera Wood (Bulnisia arborea); Mexican Poinciana (Caesalpinia yucatensis); African Cassia (Cassia afrofistula); Golden Shower (Cassia fistula); Gold Medallion (Cassia leptophylla); Golden Senna (Cassia surattensis); Gold Trumpet (Tabebuia ochracea);Yellow Elder (Tecomastans); and Yellow Geiger (Cordia lutea).
Research for other species of trees and shrubs with golden or intense yellow blooms are expected to identify other plantings that thrive in our local climate and soil, a welcoming pair for tropical exotics the year-around.
To accomplish the desired “Golden Doral” effect, it isn’t sufficient to plant “a few trees in some oparks.;” instead, an orderly, programmed schedule with definite goals firmly established with professional and expert help is required..
Political will and appropriate budgeting are both needed to convert a “Golden Doral” dream into reality that would spread the beauty throughout the city.
A campaign is underway to change the façade to a “City of Gold” for Doral by an extreme makeover of plantings during a five-to-ten year period by planting several thousand of golden trees and shrubs to beautify the city.
