Actual planting at Rim Village, begun in 1930, initially concentrated in the vicinity of the Crater Wall Trailhead. Because the overall site to be naturalized was long and narrow, Sager felt it was important to keep the views across the area open and free from obstruction:
Trees were planted in small groups occasionally to lend variety, and not in great enough numbers to cause an obstruction to the view of the Lake from the road.[32]
After proper soil was prepared, planting began. A significant number of mountain hemlocks were transplanted to the site. A small number of fir trees were planted, and large groups of deciduous shrubs were added to the evergreen groupings to give the transplanted vegetation a naturalistic appearance. A total of eight planting beds were established and planted in 1930. By 1931, Sager was impressed with the results of the planting program to date and worked to accomplish much more in the years that followed. Ten additional planting beds were established in 1932. Shade-loving plants were planted under established trees and sod was transplanted, filling the barren landscape between the parapet and the parking revetment with native plant materials. The first few years of planting proved to be somewhat experimental. Certain plant materials were found to be more suitable for the environment than others, and some did not work at all. Sager noted that the pink spirea showed the most promise, because it never failed to grow, even when transplanted in leaf. Mountain ash was another shrub that impressed the landscape architect. He used it in abundance because it was one of the largest plants growing at that elevation (a larger plant specimen gave the impression of a mature landscape) and its bright red berries and the brilliant color of its leaves in the fall were attractive bonuses. A concerted effort was made to plant sod on the lake side of the parapet wall, to control erosion, and give the steep, windswept slopes a more naturalistic appearance.[33]
Nineteen-thirty-one marked the first time that large evergreen trees were transplanted to the Rim from sites elsewhere in the park. Sizable evergreens were brought in 1930 but they did not require the use of special equipment to complete the work. The large specimens were selected, dug, root-pruned, and boxed the year prior to transplanting. A special hoist on the back of a truck was used to transplant these large evergreens. A grouping of three evergreens — all hemlocks — were planted on the northwest corner of the lodge in 1932, after other successes had been realized. One of the large evergreens brought in was the Stephen Mather Memorial tree, planted in the fall of 1931 after the original (and smaller) Mather tree, ceremoniously planted a year earlier, had died.[34]
By 1932 a good portion of the landscaping between the road and the edge of the caldera at Rim Village was completed. The park’s landscape architect began to address the need for a maintenance program to ensure a low mortality rate for the newly planted materials. In Sager’s words: “The park has made an investment in this planting which it can not afford to lose. The actual construction work is only the first part of the plan.” Sager also addressed the need to look at the landscaping requirements of the area south of the road. He noted in his report on “Naturalization in the Rim Area”:
Although it is not recommended that naturalization be done on the south side until the area on the north side between the road and the rim has been completed, it is well to point out here that this work will be necessary in the future. The area between the campground and the road should be reforested. This will make more camp ground area which is needed and also provide a screen for the camp ground.[35]
