600-Year-Old Tree Highlights Evanston Garden Walk

The burr oak tree in Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin's backyard is roughly 600 years old, according to Evanston city arborist Mark Younger.

In honor of the city's 150th anniversary this year, the ancient tree is one of the stops on the annual Evanston Garden Walk, which takes place Sunday, June 30, from noon to 5 p.m.

"This tree is not definitively the oldest in Evanston, but it is one of the oldest," says garden walk chairman Doug MacDonald.

The tree measures 58" in diameter at four feet off the ground, according to Younger. Given that oak trees are generally accepted to be 10-12 years in age for every diameter inch, that makes the oak tree somewhere between 580 and 696 years old.

Other stops along the 24th annual garden walk include a Japanese-inspired Zen garden with koi pond, the city's public rose garden (where rose hip tea will be served) and a lakeside garden with multiple ponds, fountains, a beach house with outdoor kitchen and antique Evanston street lights.

Tickets for the garden walk can be purchased on the Evanston Environmental Association website.