Be careful who you hire to prune your valuable landscape trees. Unlike our neighbor Maryland, there are no state laws in Virginia protecting consumers from unqualified tree services. If a tree service allows its workers to wear sharp steel spikes while climbing your tree, inevitable permanent damage will follow. Unfortunately the majority of tree services in Hampton […]
Plant Profiles – Sourwood
Sourwood is a personal favorite, both because of its seasonal beauty, and its unusual growth characteristics. Unfortunately it is uncommon in our yards. Such a splendid native species being absent from our yards is an error that needs correcting. If you need a beautiful ornamental tree for a small space, sourwood can be a superb solution. […]
Rubber Mulch, Should You Use It?
Imagine the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain during the spring of 1607. With sails billowing, the Susan Constant, piloted by Christopher Newport, cruised toward the future Jamestown. The surrounding forest understory was covered with native ferns, waxmyrtles, and winterberries. Flowering dogwoods, native redbuds and serviceberries were erupting with color, the luxuriant leaf litter was thick and abundant, […]
Plant Profiles – Serviceberry
Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.) is unquestionably a personal favorite of mine. An easy-to-grow small native tree that will produce berries delicious enough to bake in a pie. If you’re looking for beauty and functionality in a small landscape tree, serviceberry is a smart selection. Serviceberry flowers expand prior to the leaves. The delicate white flowers are short-lived, […]
Our Crapemyrtles – Elegant and Mistreated
Crapemyrtles are one of our loveliest non-native species. They produce a summer of showy flowers, an autumn of bright fall colors, and a winter of eye-pleasing intricate bark patterns. The tree’s unusual natural architecture adds visual diversity to our local landscapes. Unfortunately, many crapemyrtles in Hampton Roads never display that superior and beautiful form. The […]
Free Wood Chips, the Easiest, Cheapest, Environmentally-Friendly Mulch
Mulching wide around your trees (and other plants) with 2 – 4 inches of organic mulch will always be preferable to a carpet of grass or weeds surrounding your trees. Scientific research has shown that mulch conserves soil moisture and reduces competition with weed and turf roots. If you want healthy trees, you need healthy […]
Choose Native Plants This Spring
Choose Native Plants This Spring Planting natives is one of the most important steps a home owner can take to increase local biodiversity right here in Hampton Roads. There are many wonderful plants to choose from, including beautyberry, native ferns, and purple coneflowers. These natives will dress up your landscape and simultaneously benefit the environment and […]
Tree Protection During Construction
Often wooded lots command a premium price compared to treeless lots in a nearby location. However if proactive measures are not taken during new construction to protect individual trees, many trees will suffer root damage, and subsequently decline and die within three to ten years after construction activities began. I’ve delivered the bad news to […]
The Environmental Benefits of Our Local Trees
Perhaps trees are the most majestic of all living organisms. Trees are the tallest, the most massive, and the oldest of all living things on earth. They provide us with oxygen and shade, food and shelter, beauty and serenity. The broad array of benefits that trees bestow on our lives have thus far eluded our […]
Root Zone Invigoration
Root zone invigoration can revive declining trees and restore their health and beauty. Healthy trees need healthy, fertile, well-aerated soils. Compacted Soils Restrict Root Growth Optimum conditions for plant growth require soil that is relatively pliable and permeable, with plenty of large pore spaces. Unfortunately, many of our suburban landscapes trees grow in soils lacking sufficient […]