Every year Washington D.C. experiences an influx of tourists looking not only for White House tours, pictures at the Lincoln Memorial and investigating the Smithsonian Museums, but to stroll the Mall and streets absorbing the beauty and bounty of blooming cherry trees. The ornamental cherries filling the capital with beautiful blossoms and perfumes were a…
2015 has been named the “International Year of Soil” (IYS) and the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) has developed activities to support educational outreach, assigning a theme for each month of the year. April’s theme is “Soils Clean and Capture Water”. Rainwater usually falls with little to no impurities, once it reaches the planet’s…
Louisville, KY recently conducted a study of its urban canopy and the results, which were just made public, are distressing to say the least. The city has been losing approximately 54,000 trees per year for the past several years, that amounts to the mortality of about 150 trees per day! Katy Schneider, co-chair of the Louisville Metro…
Spring is a wonderful time to plan trips to the beautiful blooming gardens accessible to citizens around the world. National Geographic’s book Four Seasons of Travel ranked the top 10 gardens around the world, and while I won’t necessarily visit every famous piece of art while traveling abroad, I never miss a spectacular botanical garden…
In research recently published in the journal Plos One, entomologists from the University of Florida postulate the emergence of a “super termite” created from the interbreeding of Asian and Formosan termites. These species of subterranean termites are some of the most destructive in the world, now there is alarming evidence that these species are interbreeding…
Birch trees can be a beautiful and productive asset on many landscapes. However, like most landscape plants, species have varying nutrient, light and moisture requirements and will only thrive on the right site with adequate care. For the most part birch species have interesting and attractive bark colors and textures ranging from pure white to mahogany…
Though we may not be able to fathom a time when the ground is fully thawed and we need to worry about drought, irrigation is fundamental to the health and success of your landscape plants. In ground irrigation systems already in place should be checked for proper functioning and repaired where and if necessary, while…
Spring has sprung…or so the calendar says, perhaps it should inform the thermometer. Either way, eventually the thaw will come, mud will abound and we will already be behind schedule with our landscaping and gardening tasks. Here is a quick checklist of things you could aim to accomplish before the season is actually upon us,…
While it may be out of sight, out of mind, damage is being incurred by high foot or vehicle traffic on your landscape throughout the winter, but is especially concerning now when soils are beginning to thaw. Soil conditions currently range from still being frozen, to being partially thawed and some areas are both frozen…
Garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata, is an invasive species affecting forested lands and their ecotones throughout the northeast. Agencies of Western New York state, including The Buffalo Audubon Society, Western New York Land Conservancy, Friends of Reinstein Woods and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) have joined forces to improve habitats of three natural areas…
