SPEAKING FOR THE TREES

The State Tree of Louisiana : Cypress

I'm a tree-hugger and proud of it. I also specialize in Trees and Shrubs at the Garden Center where I work a few days a week in the growing season. So I was quite disturbed to read that the beautiful Cypresses (pictured above ) that are native to the Gulf States such as Florida and Louisiana are endangered because they are being clear-cut for mulch and not a by-product as they once were.

Cypress provide habitat for threatened and endangered species, protect from flooding, clean the water and are important for migratory birds.

These great trees, some of which are a 1,000 years old, are being sold in $2 bags in the big box stores such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Lowe's. The Gulf Restoration Network ( Joe @healthygulf.org ) was organized to save the Cypress and they've contacted all the aforementioned stores to stop selling the mulch, but thus far have had no success.

I call on all tree lovers to send an email to www.healthygulf.org to join the list of people that are sending a message to the CEO's of the big box stores to stop selling cypress mulch. Click on the category OUR WORK and select Save the Cypresses. They're trying to collect 5,000 emails.

The Cypress tree has stood for eons in the Louisiana and Florida wetlands and are an integral part of the landscape, hostory, culture and future.

I've alerted the owner of the garden center where I work and have added my email to the CEO's. Won't you join us to save a tree that is a vital part of history ?

A MOST UNIQUE GIFT FOR A GARDENER

Acer Rubrum ( Red Maple ) From George Washington's Mt. Vernon

For $39.95 you can plant a bit of history in your garden or give as a gift to a gardening friend or family member : Offsprings of trees from Graceland, the estate of Elvis Presley, George Washington's Mt. Vernon, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Pearl Buck, Walt Disney, Ray Charles and many other famous people. Trees that were here from our country's beginning and all the important events since then are a unique way to join our past and present.

You'll also be contributing to a good cause-American Forests is America's oldest nonprofit conservation group and the Famous and Historic Trees program " help people understand how trees benefit us both environnmentally, socially and economically, " according to their statement.

Visit www.historictrees.org and see their fascinating selection. The amazing Angel Oak in South Carolina, at 1,400 years old , is believed to be the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi.

FOR THE LOVE OF WISTERIA

Chinese Wisteria Standard

A few months ago I had to move my beloved Wisteria Standard ( a Wisteria vine grafted to a tree trunk ) so that my hubby could extend the porch. We had to hack the roots so much I was worried that it would survive the transplant.

It looked just pathetic for a long time -leaves turned brown , dropped off, etc. I kept on watering it faithfully.

At the end of the season at the garden center where I work, about 4 years ago, our Tree and Shrub manager announced that he had 5 Wisteria Standards that he was reducing from $500 to $100. I took all 5. Two I planted in my own garden - one pink in the front and one purple in the back and the other 3 in a client's garden.

The very first season after planting they bloomed. My neighbor was so taken with it that she made a photo that she keeps pinned to her bulletin board. My clients just adore the purple blooms of their trees each Spring.

A lot of people won't have a Wisteria Standard because it requires a lot of pruning to keep it from reverting back to a vine. I keep mine shaped like a tree but if I let it go for long it would be a really long vine and the flowers would also suffer as a consequence.

So today was balmy and I went outside to putzy around in the garden. I looked wistfully at the wisteria and low and behold I saw tiny buds staring back at me. It's alive ! Thank you , Jesus !
I can't wait until next year to see it bloom .

TREE LOVERS

I don't think it was an accident of nature but when I saw two trees growing side by side it inspired me to to paint AUTUMN GOLD. At the art gallery showing a viewer remarked that it was a "sensuous " art piece. That wasn't my intention as I painted it " Alla Prima " or in one session . But on closer scrutiny that does look like a butt on the right twin.

One of my close friends who saw the painting suggested that I change the name to Tree Lovers. I've never had a painting to evoke so many different views and while I am a tree lover I've never thought of them as erotic.

THE TREE OF LIFE

Chicago's Field Museum is collaborating on a project that intends to create a free Internet resource to catalog and describe every one of the planet's 1.8 million species.

The $50 million biodiversity effort, named the Encyclopedia of Life, was launched May 9 . Field Museum's curator of zoology, Mark Westneat said that it " could be like Google Earth for the tree of life ". Imagine zooming up the trunk of the tree of life, and zipping off to look at ferns and fungi, then zipping to the bird branches, and hopping over to dinosaurs. "

Software engineers are working on applications that could create customized maps showing the geographic home of any species, doing in minutes what could take months with current technology.

Write this down : www.eol.org. It is sure to be an authoritative version of Wikipedia for biology fans.

HARDY PLANTS FOR YEAR-ROUND CONTAINERS

Standard Weeping Pussy Willow

For those of you who have deck or balcony gardens, and your numbers are rapidly increasing in Chicago and other large cities in Zone 5, your work is much more difficult than it is for the rest of us .

Your first and foremost consideration is containers that will overwinter and can handle the freezing and thawing cycle . This eliminates ceramic or clay pots, and glazed pottery. I know, I know, they're gorgeous but short-lived if you are to overwinter plants in them. Containers made of cedar are the best rot and moisture-resistant. Those inexpensive large half whiskey barrels will last for years. Concrete planters are strong, but heavy in large sizes and not easily moved about. High quality polyurethane , colored to look like Terra Cotta, is another good choice.

Once you've selected your container, and, I must emphasize the larger the better because the more soil you have the more likely the plant is to survive.

Begin by selecting small trees . The half whiskey barrel is large enough to plant dwarf standards ( standards are trees or shrubs with a weeping or pendulous habit above a straight trunk ) such as Weeping Pussywillow, Weeping Crabapple, Weeping Cherry, Dwarf Korean Lilac and Weeping Peashrub. For a bare wall an Ornamental Espalier, a horizontally trained branching tree, such as a pear or apple is very attractive in a sunny spot.

Two other hardy standards are Rose of Sharon and Mulberry.

Korean Dwarf Lilac Standard

SPRING DREAMING -SCHEMING

Crabapples are King in Zone 5

A few good days of sunshine and warm weather makes us drop everything and rush outdoors. Chicagoans were walking around in a daze a few days ago when the temperature reached a balmy 70 degrees.

If you haven't made plans for your garden yet, now is the time to do so because the sunny days of May , when the danger of frost is past, will soon be here and planting can begin in earnest. Many experienced gardeners and landscapers plant hardy trees and shrubs as early as April.

If you are starting your garden from scratch, or just want to add to it, give your attention first to a tree , which creates the framework of the garden.

For the small urban garden I would recommend the following ornamentals that are hardy in Zone 5, most prefer sun , but some will do well in partial shade : Amelanchier canadensis, or serviceberry, is a deciduous tree with a rounded form and bears clusters of white flowers in early Spring. It's small edible berries are attractive to birds. Cercis canadensis , or Eastern Redbud, has lavender pink flowers in early Spring , followed by beautiful heart-shaped leaves . 'Forest Pansy', a cultivar with purple bronze leaves, is my favorite. Cornus florida, or the American flowering dogwood is a beautiful tree with horizontal branches and lovely showy white or pink blooms that announce that Spring is here. Cornus Mas, or Japanese Dogwood, has soft yellow fuzzy blooms in Spring and is a nice pyramidal-shaped tree ideal for small spaces. Cornus Kousa , the Asian Dogwood, is very hardy for the Chicago area because it blooms later than the American variety.

A favorite of mine and of course every proper Southern transplant like me has GOT to have one, is the magnolia. Magnolia Lilliflora, 'Little Girl hybrids' are hardy for Zone 5 and only reach 10-15 feet. They have the same red-purple bloom as the bigger Magnolias. I have a 15 year old 'Betty' in my garden, but her sisters, Ricki, Ann, Susan, Jane and Judy are all good performers as well.

Washington, D.C. is known for it's Cherry trees but in the Midwest, Crabapples are King. A few years back the Crabapples were hit hard by fungal disease and growers have been busy developing disease-resistant ones. There's nothing like a Crabapple with its fragrant white or pink blossoms, attractive foilage, colorful fruit or berries, interesting growth habit. There are over 650 cultivars ranging from 6 to 30 '.

For those with partial shade, Japanese maples, which come in an array of colors and forms are ideal ornamental trees for the urban garden.