The time of year is fast-approaching when many will begin bringing greenery inside to decorate for the season. There are many beautiful and fragrant choices, some last longer once harvested and some may be messier than others. The balsam fir, Abies balsamea, is a gorgeous, aromatic quintessential green conical Christmas tree option. However, almost all…
Decorating indoors with plants and greenery during the winter is one of the oldest traditions in the world and has been a part of celebrating winter festivals since ancient times. Citizens in the southern U.S. states have been using fresh greenery to decorate for the holidays since colonization, while it is newer come to the…
On November 15th the U.S. celebrates America Recycles Day, a nationally recognized event dedicated to promotion and awareness of recycling. The average American produces 4.4 lbs of trash per day, and the United States as a country produces 250 million tons of trash per year. Technological advancements in production and recycling methods have allowed more…
Our paper “It’s Not Easy Going Green: Obstacles to Tree- Planting Programs in East Baltimore” has just been published in the journal Cities and the Environment (CATE). In 2006, government officials in Baltimore announced plans to double the city’s tree canopy over the next thirty years. While the effort has already produced positive results, many…
With the highest, concentrated populations living along coastlines it is important that our landscape plants be tolerant of higher soil salinity, salt spray and drift. A major component of salt is concentrated sodium, which is damaging to plant tissue, both foliage and roots. Very high salinity levels can stunt plant growth, even killing some plants. If excessive…
This week my colleague Dexter Locke and I had the opportunity to present at the DE / MD APA 2014 Regional Planning Conference. We presented on the suite of urban tree canopy tools available to planners. While many tree canopy goal efforts have focused disproportionately on tree planting, strategies for all variables in the equation below…
In honor of creepiest, scariest night of the year this post will pay tribute to some of the most horrifyingly poisonous plants on the planet. Terrifying trees and plants have long played a part in the imagination of humans, from the 1800s when rumors of a man-eating tree received widespread public attention to the more recent and infamous…
For over 250 years a bur oak has been growing on what is now the campus of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The University is currently constructing its new Ross School of Business and the large tree’s seniority has run out, it stands in the way of progress. However, rather than just cutting…
Since 2009 the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, located at the University of Texas at Austin, has been partnered with the Garden Club of America, The National Invasive Species Council and the National Park Service to educate the public and promote best practices for the prevention of invasive species from taking over parklands and natural areas.…
Forests are undeniably integral to the supply of clean, drinking water available to populations living in the midwest and northeast. More than 52 million people in this region depend on surface water to drink, cook, bath and wash with and the majority of this water comes from forested lands. The general population is mostly unaware…
