The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The ugly first : just drove past Beech and Charlotte and got a jolt from all the Maple Trees dead or still dying in the urban forest or what it was once to be. Anyone, even lowly nature, can plant a seed or acorn and expect it to live and even see it mature to adulthood. That is, allowing it to grow free from chemicals, so the tree grows naturally. 

I suggest that someone, desiring a weed free forest floor unnatural in the real world, used chemical weed killer in an amount that affected the well established trees. Nature has been growing trees without chemicals for billions of years and really needs no help from Man. 

The good : drive out North Hanover Street until you arrive at The POttsgrove Middle School. There along the west side of street at the base of the hill is one of the most lovely plantings of American Linden Trees I ever saw. They are so symmetrical in their spade like canopy, especially now, while displaying new growth.
A Landscape Architect should be complimented for his choice. It's an easy drive to view and get a new appreciation of street tree selection.

The bad : mulching should be done for the health of the tree or shrubs and not just for viewing esthetics. Mulch should never be piled up around trunks of trees or shrubs, an if so, should be pulled away so the trunks can be seen entering the topsoil. Some of the best mulch is on your property, it is the compost that develops from rotting chopped up fall leaves along with any other green vegetation but not lawn grass clippings. It is often said, a good household compost program is like finding a working mine which produces black gold rather than yellow.

Ronald C. Downie