So Cal Alert: Polyphagus Shot Hole Borer

...s a perfect storm. So now, more than ever, it is time to take care of your trees. Our trees have been gamely enduring the drought for the last few years, but this year, tree experts tell me, the signs of deep distress are appearing. We’re at risk losing many trees due to drought alone this summer. The Shot Hole Borer is merely upping the stakes. Keep in mind that a mature tree needs to be watered such that the water penetrates to a depth of two or...

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Rubber Sidewalks Rescue Trees

...alk interface. I have fielded calls from people frantically trying to save trees that are being ripped out because they are lifting the sidewalk. I have also received calls from people eager to remove trees for the same reason. Sadly, I have also heard from people that would call just to complain about a tree being messy and littering their sidewalk or driveway. My personal take on that is it isn’t the tree that should be removed- it is the concre...

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Loquat season is here!

...** *Re: fruit foraging: I consider it fair/legal to snag fruit from street trees, those trees growing on the strip of public land between the street and the sidewalk, and fruit which overhangs the sidewalk. Now, of course, you don’t want to be a jerk about this–I pay attention to context, and won’t take fruit that people seem to be using, or which seems precious in any way. (Loquats I classify as a weed/borderline nuisance.) It’s never okay to ste...

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Attractive Ornamental Flowering Trees

...images are courtesy of Wikimedia. Magnolia stellata (Star Magnolia) Small trees go with small houses like gin goes with tonic water. Small trees are also easy to maintain and don’t break the bank when it comes time to call an arborist. This tree is from Japan and will grow all over North America and Europe. Cornus florida (flowering dogwood) One catch with this pretty tree is that it’s susceptible to anthracnose. Tabebuia impetiginosa (pink trump...

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Making It

...ctions for a wide range of projects, from building a 99-cent solar oven to making your own laundry soap to instructions for brewing beer. Making It is the go-to source for post-consumer living activities that are fun, inexpensive and eminently doable. Our goal in this book was to provide really stripped down, simple projects that use only inexpensive, easy to source materials. We also tried to use the same materials and ingredients over and over a...

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