June 2010 Blog Posts (10)

There are only 5 surviving veterans of WWI, world-wide, ranging in age from 107 to 110. This grove was planted in Danville VA to memorialize their home town fallen WWI heroes. Each tree has a plaque bearing the name of the fallen. Like the surviving veterans, these tree are beginning to "age out". Danville is replacing these 100 year old willow oaks one-by-one as they are lost, and along with them, fresh plaques with the names of those never… Continue

The 107 acre Ballou Park in in the heart of Danville (a small mill town located in Southern Virginia), is said to be the oldest urban park in Virginia, established sometime in the mid 1800s. Imagine these old trees as youngsters over 120 years ago!

Hawk's Nest Hideaway in Mentone, Alabama

This two-bedroom, two-bath mountain getaway is nestled on top of north Alabama’s Lookout Mountain. Guests can hike Little River Canyon, the country’s second-deepest river canyon, view beautiful waterfalls, take canoe rides through…

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We built our cabin on a wooded lot in 2005, which we cleared ourselves. We kept as many of the mature trees as possible. I liked the loblolly the best and were able to save about 25 of them. I love the way they smell and grace our land. We lost 5 to the beetles the summer of 2007. Last winter one of the largest loblolly's was struck by lightning. We were saddened, but knew that the 150 year old giant had to come down. We found someone to cut and remove it. Now we were left with a huge hole on… Continue

More cement and asphalt paths are being created through woods in parks as alternative transportation corridors and to view nature. Typically the paths are placed adjacent to mature trees. The damage often shows well after the contractors have left the scene. The cement compresses and damages roots and can prevent water absorption but the most damage occurs during…

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Municipalities often wonder how big their street trees will become and if they will create damage to surrounding infrastructure, however New Orleans seems to have different ethic, let them grow! As a result they have one of the most amazing urban forest in the country. We know the the issues surrounding an uneven sidewalk, but have we considered the advantages? Perhaps with an expectation of uneveness, there would be more awareness and less accidents. Humans did not evolve walking on flat…

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Big is not necessary for spectacular! This addition to my post on Trees of America's Grove (trees I have to visit in my travels across the country), is a moss covered ancient dwarf Japanese Maple tree located on the grounds of the Japanese Garden in Portland OR. This picture was taken June 13, 2010 during Portland's Rose Festival. …

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This is a 60 inch diameter plus live oak tree of tremendous tenacity, surviving construction damage and the winds and floods of hurricane Katrina. The tree is located along the front drive of the Imperial Palace hotel in Biloxi MS, site of this years Southern Group of State Foresters meeting. The picture was taken June 10, 2010,…

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As the world gets smaller through global commerce and international travel, disease and pests also find themselves migrating from region to region, country to country and continent to continent.

Since insects fly, crawl and generally move about,…

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Our furry friends sometimes like to snack on unusual things, including the plants in our gardens. However, some of these plants can be dangerous to cats and dogs – even in small amounts. To keep your pets safe, try the following steps:…

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