During the reign of French King Henry IV (“Henry of Navarre”) from 1579 to 1610, he and his Duke of Sully remade French infrastructure with tree-lined highways. At the palace of Fontainebleau, rows of pines, elms, and fruit trees were added to the landscape. After the assassination of Henry, his widow, Queen Marie De Medici,… More
The remaking of Paris fell squarely onto the shoulders of Napoleon I’s grandson, Napoleon III. Napoleon III accepted his new position as Emperor when huge Parisian riots erupted in 1848, and removed the latest crop of monarchists and put the Bonapartes back on top. Unlike his grandfather, Napoleon III had a real flair for remaking… More
This week, all three of our posts are devoted to the history of street trees in Paris – a city that, as we conclude in today’s piece, could just as easily be called “City of Trees” as”City of Lights.” -LM Paris has been around for a long time, too long to cover in only one… More
I spent last week visiting my family in New York City. The city in April can be dicey – you can get blooming trees and flowers, or you can get freezing winds and sometimes even snow. I was lucky to get the former.
There are lots of ecological arguments for creating more green roofs, particularly in urban environments. Until now, though, I had never considered one additional benefit – certifying them as wildlife habitats. I started thinking about this after reading an item on the S.W.I.M. Coalition website about the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) of Grand… More
Alex Shigo, one of the most famous plant biologists and fathers of arboriculture, is widely credited with making huge improvements to standard industry practices. One of his famous sayings was an exhortation to “touch trees.” I’ve adapted this to my own related specialty, urban trees and soils, which is why I often tell landscape architects and other… More
A couple of years ago, I wrote hopefully about the City of San Francisco’s plans to revamp our main thoroughfare, Market Street. The project, which began in 2009 and planned to improve transit, pedestrian spaces, and business opportunities, represented a tremendous opportunity for Market Street to meet the grandness of its proportions. I hoped for… More
What do trees really need? Sunlight, surely. Water, and nutrients from the soil. But do they need pruning? Some trees are said to be self-pruning, shedding dead limbs or even overly heavy live limbs. Trees and plants have evolved for millennia without our intervention.
Earlier this year, I wrote about a study by Dr. Jessica Sanders, Director of Technical Services and Research at Casey Trees, that concluded that “apparent available soil” was a good predictor of ultimate tree size. Now, Dr. Sanders and two co-authors, Jason Grabosky and Paul Cowie, have published a complete version of their study in the… More
My generation, the millennials, has been described as politically apathetic many times and by many people. I’m not sure it’s an entirely fair characterization, but I do relate to a feeling of powerlessness when it comes to influencing policies and other types of fundamental changes. When I was a kid, my parents and teachers would… More
Read Part I of The History of Street Trees here. In the United States we have hockey season, football season, etc. Well, in the Middle Ages of Europe there was a war season. It was after the fields were sowed and through the summer until harvest. Lords (i.e., kings) would round up farm boys and… More
Need a lively discussion topic for the dinner table, a road trip, or a hot date? How about stormwater credits for trees?! A group of us started discussing the intricacies of how to set up a stormwater credit system for trees two summers ago, only to discover that the subject was even more “interesting” (both… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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