OK, I confess- I am passionately, and up until now, quietly, working to remove toxic chemicals and toxic practices from the wonderful world of arboriculture (the art, science technology, and business of tree care). Most of us think trees are good, but we don’t all know why. We also don’t, for the most part, think much about them until they fall down, break something, turn brown, begin to lift the driveway, or start dripping sticky stuff on our cars. Sadly, most of us don’t know how to care for our trees and other landscaping. We trust that the mow and blow guy is a genius in all things and would never dream of doing anything to hurt our precious plants. This may not the way to handle these leafy creatures that can shelter, cool and please us, and make our properties look spiffy. We probably spend more time deciding where to eat lunch than we do making sure that the landscape we are responsible for, that we paid for, is well cared for by people who truly specialize in such things.

 Not to say that there aren’t mow and blow guys who know about trees, but I guarantee they are not likely to know the latest and most prudent practices of eco-friendly landscaping. Perhaps you have had such an experience in your own yard, where your prize ornamentals were all treated equally-sheared off at the knees, sprayed with who-knows-what and left gasping for proper attention. Proper pruning will never look bad.

It is finally becoming “chic” to be ecologically responsible for your trees, for your property-no matter how large or small. Many of you have been doing this forever-greenies to your souls. Not using toxic chemicals and unnecessary fertilizers on your trees and other landscape plants is the way to be “IN“, although millions have been living this way for totally different reasons having nothing to do with popularity-only a growing sense of comman sense. I assure you, this does not mean that you have to have a shabby looking landscape, insect riddled gardens, or anything less than absolutely beautiful! There are hundreds of very fine products out there that work without polluting the water sources, giving your children and pets cancer, killing every earthworm for miles, or murdering the birds that come to your place looking for a snack.

There are amazing professionals–gardeners, arborists, ecologists out there who specialize in these marvelous things and can guide you towards healthy and beneficial personal green spaces. You will have the best of gardens, “Eco-Chic” gardens, environmentally responsible practices abounding, birds galore (without hanging feeders), butterflies, ladybugs (without buying them in bags) and your friends, secretly jealous, because you thought of it first.
 2010 Shades of Green Horticulture

The Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO) - AB1881 became effective January 1, 2010. WELO, (pronounced wee-low) essentially makes it illegal to waste water in the state of California. Its purpose is:

• To establish a structure for designing, installing, maintaining, and managing water efficient landscapes in new and rehabilitated projects.
• To use water efficiently without waste by setting a Maximum Applied Water Allowance (MAWA) as an upper limit for water use and reduce water use to the lowest practical amount.
• To establish provisions for water management practices and water waste prevention for existing landscapes.
• To promote the value and benefit of landscapes while recognizing the need to use water and other resources efficiently. Read the rest of this entry »
  

The American public is quick to grab the quick fixes when it comes to killing insects, and most  stores are more than happy to arm them with something like Merit rather than discuss other options more friendly to the environment and us as well. A vendor  of this and other toxic products  shared with me that he had indeed used Merit to combat bark beetles in a very large Ponderosa pine on his property. A couple weeks after using the product as a soil drench, he was stunned to find thousands of dead honey bees at the base of the treated tree. I know that many of my  arborist colleagues use this product, perhaps not knowing the fatal outcome. I hope they read this story, written by Paul Tukey on Thu, Sep17,2009. I also hope my readers will think twice before buying and using products such as this one.

Pesticide Implicated in Widespread Bee Deaths  

While environmental activists including the SafeLawns Foundation claimed a temporary victory Wednesday, Sept. 16 in the emerging battle concerning the widespread use of imidacloprid in Worcester, Mass., beekeepers and many other observers across North America are deeply concerned about the precedents being set in the rural community.

As the threat of exotic invasive pests spreads- just as more alarming information becomes available about the pesticides currently in use - it is imperative correct decisions be made in situations for which no easy answers exist. Read the rest of this entry »