Earlier this month I saw a press release issued by the Morton Arboretum that discussed their use on a product containing beet juice to deice roads and trails. The mixture is quicker and less toxic than using salt alone. It sounds like a joke, but it’s not. Beet juice is actually used as an additive… More
Today we’re sharing a Silva Cell practitioner’s field checklist that we created to help designers determine the most appropriate and high-priority locations for Silva Cells based on site considerations and project design goals. Remember that these are only guidelines; a variety of site factors will influence how and where this product should be used. This… More
We love trees. We also love woodies. For those of you who have been reading this blog for a while, you will know that we promote large volumes of non-compacted, biologically active loam as essential for street tree health and longevity. There are other plants which require soil volume and need attention as well. Vines,… More
In the seven years that the Silva Cell has been on the market, a number of cities have designated it as an approved technology for their sustainability goals, whether for tree growth, on-site stormwater management, or both. Here is a list of all the places, organized by state/province, that include it in their policies.
How do the stormwater benefits of Silva Cell suspended pavement tree/soil systems compare to the stormwater benefits of traditional bioretention systems? Since the mechanisms by which the tree and soil provide the stormwater benefits in these systems are the same as those in traditional bioretention, we expected the benefits to be comparable as well. The… More
There is a lot of misinformation in the landscape architecture community about whether or not trees roots will grow in gravels, structural stone soils, and clear stone. Our experience indicates that roots will adventitiously grow in any medium given the right set of circumstances. Quantifying and predicting what set of circumstances produce that growth response… More
For the last two weeks in December I’m be re-posting some of my favorite blog posts from this year. Today’s shares some of the most exciting news we got in 2013, when the Washington State Department of Ecology recognized the Silva Cell as being functionally equivalent to a rain garden. Scroll all the way to the… More
For the last two weeks in December I’m re-posting some of my favorite blog posts from this year. Today’s, by James Urban, perfectly captures what we need to do in order to create healthier urban environments for trees and soils. It’s simple. Touch trees. – LM Alex Shigo, one of the most famous plant biologists and… More
For the last two weeks in December I’ll be re-posting some of my favorite blog posts from this year. Today’s post is by Dr. Bert Cregg, Associate Professor in the Department of Horticulture and Department of Forestry at Michigan State University. It was originally published on The Garden Professors and is reprinted with the author’s permission. -LM We’ve… More
Browsing through YouTube, I came across this amazing video from 1950 on the topic of water movement in soils.
As of this summer, Raleigh, NC now requires a minimum of 600 cubic feet of soil for all street trees planted in the right of way for new developments. Their new Street Design Manual outlines this requirement, and the design methods available for achieving it, in section 6.18, page 82-86.
Bainbridge Island is a small city located a 35-minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle in the heart of the Puget Sound. The island’s rural character and small town feel support a variety of land- and water-based recreational activities. At the center of Bainbridge Island is Winslow Way, the City’s downtown main street and heart of… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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