Lakewood selects official song, tree, flower
Submitted By Stacie Oulton, Lakewood public information officer
LAKEWOOD - Going native won in the competition to name an official tree and flower to celebrate the City’s 40th anniversary while highlighting the City’s elevation put the winning song on top in the official song category.
The City’s official tree is Celtis occidentalis, known both as the common hackberry and the Western hackberry. The City’s official flower is Salvia pachyphylla, known as Mojave sage. The City’s official song is “Lakewood, More Than a Mile High,” an original composition with lyrics. The winners were announced during last night’s City Council meeting after jury panels selected the winners from nominations made by community members during a nine-week period.
“I think this has been a fun way to celebrate our anniversary, and now residents can look to these official tree and flower for planting ideas, while the song reminds us of some of the best aspects of Lakewood,” said Mayor Bob Murphy.
The jury panel picking the winning tree nomination noted that the hackberry is a hardwood, does well in drought and grows slowly, allowing it to better handle snow loads. It also is low maintenance, native to parts of the West, leafs out late in the spring, helping it withstand spring snowstorms, and is a four-season tree, providing a lacy, intricate visual even during the winter.
The jury panel picked the Mojave sage because it is native to the West, has two-color blooms, requires no watering or fertilizing once established, is long-lived and a humming bird magnet.
Tim Hoffman wrote and composed the winning song, which the judges noted is a catchy, toe-tapping tune with an easy-to-follow melody. It is a song that could be taught to elementary students, and it was professionally done.
