Sometimes when I am driving with my mom or my partner, one of us issues a string of invectives because we see a pruning job like this:


mature tree with a beautiful canopy except for the giant hole cut out for a power line
(see a full ranty pinterest board by someone else like us!)

Why "tree trimming" doesn't actually prevent power outages (and what will)
( Read more... )

How perfectly nice people can make bad tree choices: story time
( Read more... )

Choosing the Right Trees (preferably not for your hell strip)
( Read more... )

tl;dr If this seems like Too Much to Think About, here is a simple guide with pictures and less wall of text about picking the right tree for the right place. And remember, you can always ask a local botanical garden or garden group or internet hive mind for help. I wouldn't necessarily trust a landscaping company as your only source, as their main job is to sell you plants (even if they're not the right plants for you).

If you're thinking, lizcommotion, I don't have room for trees! All of this applies to houseplants or smaller plants as well, just on a less-huge and less-long scale. More on picking houseplants and veggies and things later. But it is good to pay attention to the labels on plants, because if you have a shade-loving plant in the sun, it's going to be a sad sad plant.

P.S. Also, even if you don't have space, you can be like me and come up with a mental list of gorgeous trees you'd plant if you did have the right space. It is a good game.

I don't really have words yet this morning, and it's kind of a pain day, so here, have some photos I took in the garden a couple days ago of my mom's fall blooming camellias.


a pink flower in a square shot framed by dark green leaves, with fallen brown leaves on the ground in the background
( one more photograph below the cut )