If St. Valentine had been a Landscape Designer...

A few weeks ago I was approached by a local garden club to speak to their club on Thursday, February 13, aka the day before Valentine's Day (or simply, yesterday.) After hearing a friend speak to them on the work taking place in the Baptist Town Neighborhood in Greenwood, the club decided they would like to plant a tree in the neighborhood on the day of my presentation, which is the day before Mississippi's Arbor Day (2nd Friday in February) So, when I asked the president what they would like me to speak on, the response was simply "trees." 

Now the subject of trees is a great one, yet an expansive one. You could pick one aspect of a tree, such as fall color and speak on the topic for hours. I, being the only one that would listen to a fall color topic for hours, but that is beside the point. Since Mississippi's Arbor Day is aligning with Valentine's Day, the only logical thing to speak on was love...the love of trees.  

There are a lot of elements I love about landscapes. In fact, I love everything about them : the diversity of landscapes, the dynamic changes that occur throughout the seasons, the symbiotic relationships of all landscape components, etc, etc, etc. That is why I have chosen this field. Yet, it's something about tress that I love the most. I am beyond fascinated with them...enthralled may be the better word. After all, I did graduate from a university where the largest tradition revolves around trees. A tradition with such a long history, when we lost the dear Toomer's Oaks it made national news. 

I love everything about trees from the tiniest bark detail to the branching pattern of a giant white oak.  I love the shade they give, the character they provide and the sense of place they create. I love that a morning after a few too many bourbons another LA friend of mine and I spent a good portion of the morning debating whether a Sweetbay Magnolia was evergreen or deciduous. Turns out, it's both... a semi-evergreen. To me, it seems that trees are what anchor us to the planet. I could ramble on but decided to simplify this love affair into a top ten list in order to not completely plant geek out. 

Had St. Valentine been a landscape designer...I think he would probably agree on these... 

Reason Number One: 

I love the diversity of tree species. There is a diversity in every aspect...from the shape and growth pattern, to the purpose, to the function to whether or not they hold their leaves in the winter or not. I love that there is a tree out there for whatever need you have in your landscape. That's why I always start with trees in the design process. 

Reason Number Two: 

Trees are living components of history. Although most don't live to be 500 years old like the Angel Oak seen in this photo, many of the large, hardwood varieties can live to be 100 years, if not 100, at least 40-50 years old. If they could talk, could you imagine the stories they could tell? 

Reason Number Three: 

Trees are huge. Trees are small. If you need a 50' tree or a 10' tree...there is a size suitable for you. 

Reason Number Four: 

I mean, enough said, right? Starting in the spring, the flowering varieties showcase a brilliance of spring colors. Once the summer arrives, millions of shades of green fill the canopies. Best of all is the fall color, though. The radiant reds and yellows and oranges are one of the greatest spectacles of nature. Winter has a haunting beautiful color as well with the various shades of grays, whites, and browns that take center stage when no leaves or blooms are present. 

Reason Number Five: 

Trees can be used for a multitude of functions in the landscape...as seen in the list above. Smaller, flowering varieties such as Japanese Magnolias and Crepe Myrtles make excellent accents to landscapes. Large hardwood varieties provide shade for homes, patios and playgrounds. Evergreen trees make amazing screens. The same variety used throughout an overall landscape, such as neighborhood or streetscape provides instant character and a sense of place. 

They function in almost every aspect of our everyday, non-landscape life as well. Can you imagine a world without wood and wood products...seems like such a silly concept, but take a moment and think about what all comes from trees that we use everyday. Heck, we even bring them inside during the holidays for our Christmas centerpieces. 

Reason Number Six: 

I've referenced grade school twice now this year, but remember all the diagrams of the greenhouse gas effect we had to learn? Remember how the tree is at the center of the diagram taking in the CO2 and producing the oxygen? Not only that, but trees are instrumental in storm-water management as they help absorb water and stabilize the soil. Look real close at the bottom photo, this is the owl who resides in the hickories of Gamwyn Park...although it thinks of Beau, mom's Chihuahua as the next appetizer, it relies on the neighborhood trees for a home. Trees do more for the environment than we could ever really grasp. 

Reason Number Seven: 

Beauty is found in trees at all scales...the tiniest bark, woodgrain or leaf detail contributes to the overall character  of the tree. Without the smallest of details, these giant trees would lack in any detail at all. 

Reason Number Eight: 

Trees are the landmarks to so many places, regions and spaces. From the Palms of sunny Florida to the White Ashes of Michigan and the Redwoods of California. Trees announce your sense of arrival to a different place often times better than signs do. Even tree sculptures are used as icons of place (as seen by the NCMA's silver tree to the left.) 

Reason Number Nine: 

Trees provide instant impact. Just take a look at the before and after of this neighborhood. Not only do they create the instant, aesthetic impact, but automatically create a hospitable environment. Trees also impact property values by increasing them.  

Reason Number Ten: 

I think reason ten may be my favorite as the growth habit of trees is what fascinates me the most. In spite of all the beauty and grandeur they demonstrate above ground, it's the root system that is the most fascinating. These roots spread out to the dripline (extent of the branches) of the tree. This is often an overlooked fact. Never drive or compact this area during any type of construction as your tree will not make it. (Ask First Baptist Church in Ridgeland, MS about this...) I've seen so many trees die right after construction is finished because heavy machinery crunched the delicate root zone... but i digress. The roots obtain all the nutrients for these pillars of nature. At the same time they can buckle sidewalks or produce mysterious "knees." What we see above ground is only a tiny part of the tree's entire make-up. 

Here's where diversity comes back to play again. Even though all trees have an overall root system, the growth habit and patterns of trees is incredibly divers from species to species. From the Longleaf Pine that remains a bush for the first several years of growing to the Bald Cypress that can grow on land or in water. Take a moment to think about all the many different types of environments in which trees can grow. 

Before running out and planting a tree in honor of Mississippi's Arbor Day, take a moment and ask yourself a few questions. Just as there is a right plant for the right place, there is a right tree for the right place. Look into the species that you are wanting to plant. If you're wanting a giant shade tree, I'd steer away from a Crepe Myrtle. If you're wanting a low maintenance tree, I'd steer away from a Water Oak as the leaves are narrow and hard to rake. Take inventory of the area in which you are placing it. Lighting conditions? View sheds? Etc, etc, etc. Always check the mature size and make sure it has enough room to reach this size. 

These instructions are a bit intense and totally created for contractors. All one really needs to remember when planting a tree is to dig the hole twice the width of the rootball (that mass of roots and soil on the bottom of the tree), and ensure that the small flare (basal flare) at the bottom of the trunk is not covered with your backfill soil...so only dig as deep as the rootball. Also, be sure that if the tree is container grown, break up this rootball. I only recommend staking the tree if the trunk is not completely perpendicular to the soil line. 

I'm sure when the garden club "powers at be" established Mississippi's Arbor Day they didn't realize the chance of Arbor Day and Valentine's Day coinciding...or maybe they did, which would have been pretty cool. I find it a wonderful coincidence that the two coincide this year. And although you may not share my enthusiasm for these species, give them some love this year. Maybe plant one for someone you love or give some seeds or saplings to some Valentines? That tree you plant could very well be still standing decades from February 14, 2014. What better way to show some love? 

I know he wasn't, but had that St. Valentine been a landscape designer...he would have loved on some trees as well...

Blooms, Blossoms, Bosoms & Education

2014 symposium poster by Brantley Snipes Landscape + Design 

Garden Clubs. In the South, they are one of our many societal institutions; institutions that have been in place since the days when people actually spent time in their garden. (I use the word institution not lightly, as southern institutions are the "norms" in our culture.)  Ladies would gather over finger sandwiches and compare notes on blooms, blossoms, and well, sometimes their neighbor's new bosoms... if chardonnay was added to the mix at 11 am then so be it...the meeting then becomes THE social afternoon of the month.  

Decades later, the tradition remains strong in the Delta...finger sandwiches, cheese straws and the occasional chardonnay still accompany the meetings. The recipes may vary, but the staples remain. A southern lady, more than likely, is a part of a garden club, whether or not she knows what type of shrub is in her front yard. Not only that, but she has been since the days of "Pretty Planters" in grade school...minus the brief hiatus throughout college where the sorority takes precedent over the garden club. 

Yet, despite their notorious social nature, a Delta garden club can take on more and can accomplish more than some of our most dedicated SEC football players. I mean that with 100% truth. My dad and I joke that if you could channel all the hostessing efforts of a garden club meeting into science research...one could, in fact, find a cure for one of our deadliest world epidemics. When these ladies set their minds to something, come hell or high water it will happen, it will be beautiful, and it will be done better than the previous year or the neighboring town's efforts on the same event. When a garden club in the Delta hosts something...make it a point to be there... 

That being said, make it a point to be at the Greenville Higher Education Center, what we refer to as The GHEC on April 3. This is the date of the Greenville Garden Club's Horticulture Symposium, which is held every other year. This free event is open to the public and features a different landscape professional each time. Not only will there be a speaker, but the event will feature garden and interior vendors. The symposium takes what garden clubs do best, hostessing and community outreach, and compiles them into an educational lunch. 

This year's speaker is Carol Reese of the University of Tennessee. Carol works to keep the horticulture industry up to date, and attuned to the needs of an increasingly savvy gardening clientele. She writes a weekly gardening and nature column for the Jackson Sun, has served as the Q&A columnist for Horticulture Magazine, and contributes to many other gardening magazines.

Although I am a member of The Greenwood Garden Club, I am the first born of an active member of The Greenville Garden Club and had the great honor of creating their poster this year. 

If you intend to be in the Delta on April 3, mark your calendars for this event! Not only will there be a speaker, but the event will feature garden and interior vendors. Although you have to bring your own finger sandwich, you won't have to bring your imagination, as you will be treated with the most gracious Southern hospitality in the most gracious of settings...and hey, you may learn something in the process...even if you're already in a garden club.