[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[May 14, 1991]
[Pages 508-509]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Tree-Planting Ceremony
May 14, 1991

    Your Majesty and Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen, 
representatives of the American Association of Nurserymen, which donated 
this very special tree, welcome to the White House and to an event which 
commemorates--whether in America or Great Britain--how trees can 
preserve and protect our natural resources.
    Winston Churchill once said: ``I am always ready to learn, though I 
do not always enjoy being taught.'' What trees teach us is how a 
precious inheritance can be passed from one generation to another. We 
see it in the forests of Nottingham and lush delta of Mississippi. We 
marvel at the Kew Gardens and evergreens of the Pacific Northwest. Trees 
form a great cathedral of the outdoors. We must nurture them, replenish 
them, as a family would a best friend.
    Your Majesty, 54 years ago President Roosevelt did exactly that, 
celebrating the British-American family by praising a friend. In 1937, 
two small-leaf linden trees were planted in honor of your father, King 
George the Sixth's coronation. For decades they stood erect and proud, 
like the ties that bind our nations. And then last September, a storm 
swept through Washington, destroying one of the lindens planted for your 
father. Each served to remind all of us that trees are precious, but 
fragile, and they need our help, as we need their beauty.
    Teddy Roosevelt once called our lands and wildlife ``the property of 
unborn generations.'' And so I can think of no better way to show our 
friendship, nor salute the children of both our countries than to plant 
a new linden tree. It is my honor now to dedicate this tree to a truly 
great and good man, King George the Sixth.

                    Note: The President spoke at 1:40 p.m. on the South 
                        Lawn of the White House. In his

[[Page 509]]

                        remarks, he referred to Her Majesty Queen 
                        Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom; His Royal 
                        Highness Prince Philip, the Queen's husband; and 
                        King George VI , her late father.