This is Part 3 in the History of Street Trees – British Isles series. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. The lack of costly infrastructure as defensive walls, previously discussed at the beginning of part two of this series, allowed British cities to expand piecemeal into the countryside, with lower population densities…. More
This is Part 2 in the History of Street Trees in Britain and Ireland. Read Part 1 of this series here. The cultural, religious, medical and agricultural vacuum that followed the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire led directly to the establishment of independent, self-sufficient catholic monasteries. The dominant monastic culture came directly from Britain, specifically… More
Despite modest amounts of annual precipitation, Ireland and Britain are among some of the most perfect places to grow trees. The high latitudes and moderating Gulf Stream of the Atlantic Ocean has insured an exceptionally temperate environment is ideal for most trees, even sub-tropical ones such as palm trees. Never too hot, never too cold,… More
When Shawn started working here, he mentioned that while he was in graduate school he had completed an assessment of Providence’s urban tree canopy, and promised to dig up the original document for us. And he did! (It’s a rough draft – we couldn’t find the final one – so ignore the occasional missing image… More
A large-canopy tree is a very beautiful thing. On this, most people will agree. But is not only beautiful—it also benefits its community. It provides shade and shelter, protects air quality, and reduces air temperatures, water runoff, and human stress. A street lined with such trees is a desirable place to live and work, and… More
I’ve discussed using trees and soils (green infrastructure) to manage stormwater in two recent webinars. This is a rich and complex topic, so to help break it down into digestible pieces I organize it in to what I call the First Principles of Urban Stormwater Systems. Those first principles are listed in the illustration above…. More
In a recent webinar discussing the first principles of using trees and soil for stormwater management in urban areas, I mentioned that I am often not in favor of using mulch. In fact, I said that if it were up to me, mulch would not be included by default in most planting specifications. After the… More
This is the fifth and final post in Peter MacDonagh’s series on the history of street trees in Holland. Today, how an ancient Dutch barge made its way to a Midwestern living room. -LM In my Midwestern living room in the U.S., we have hanging on the wall a small blue and white plate. This… More
Today is the second to last post of Peter MacDonagh’s five part series on the history of street trees in Holland. In this one, the Dutch expand their master planning to their pesky colonies. -LM Eventually the Dutch East India Company (VOC) controlled colonial trading cities in Asia, Africa, South America, and New Amsterdam in… More
Here is Part 3 of Peter MacDonagh’s series on the history of street trees in Holland. Things are starting to heat up! -LM The Low Country cities (which included both Holland and Belgium until 1830) went all in on the spice trade from the 1200’s forward. Most of these spices were harvested from the fruit… More
Here is Part 2 of Peter MacDonagh’s series on the history of street trees in Holland. Peter’s knowledge is incredible; I promise you don’t want to miss this unusual history of Holland through its trees. -LM The Low Countries, as one would guess, were perpetually wet – abounding with swamps, marshes and bogs. To increase… More
For today’s post, experts L. Peter MacDonagh and James Urban, FASLA tackle one of the most commonly asked questions we hear about whether tree stability is related to an evenly developed root ball. Here is what they have to say. -LM Without a completely developed root system on all four sides, won’t trees fail? What… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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