#andrew_the_arborist

[trees-indeed]

From Andrew_the_Arborist

[epoxyconfetti]

As an aspiring urban forester (because my previous career in military intelligence wasn't enough of an oxymoron), I can tell you most larger US cities have at least one (usually non-profit or municipal) organization that will provide free street trees upon request. Some will come plant it for you; in other cities, they have to come plant it for you by law (if the tree location is on the city's right-of-way).

I'm in the DC/Baltimore region, so here are the ones I'm familiar with:

DC - caseytrees.org Baltimore - treebaltimore.org

Cities, states, and counties are all recognizing the need to replant our deforested cities, and a google search or checking your local government resources will probably turn up a few places to get free trees. In some places, the local power companies give away trees (presumably with instructions to not plant them near power lines).

For a modest donation, the Arbor Day Foundation will send you one or multiple trees, as well as looking your property up on a map and telling where in your yard to plant it to best benefit you , i.e. put your house in the shade to lower your energy bill, and keep down the temperature in the "urban heat islands".

All of these organizations will give and/or recommend trees that are native to your area. The only ones selling you non-native species will be your local garden center / big box store / nursery, who are out for the money, mostly. Most native tree species provide food/habitat/reproductive assistance to dozens if not hundreds of species of wildlife. And some insects can only live/reproduce on a single species of tree.

Plant native species.

Oh, one other thing. Most places have a (free?) service that will come out and mark the locations of utilities on request if you are doing any kind of digging. Do not plant your free tree over a power/water/sewer/telephone/cable TV line. You can dig into a cable or pipe accidentally, which can be expensive to repair, incur serious fines, or potentially be fatal.

And back to Philadelphia for a moment, let me recommend the Instagram of Andrew Conboy, @andrew_the_arborist a Philly-area urban forester. Some great content there.

The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.

Fun Fact, if you're in Philadelphia, your free street tree from the city government can be a cherry blossom or dogwood, so you can get pretty flowers for free

[flyingfanboyfeathers]

Can we start promoting the idea that hibernation and recovery is healthy and beautiful? That rest is just as beautiful as growth.

[stevviefox]

Def want to do this.

[gaytheropods]

[Video Description: A tiktok by @ andrew_the_arborist. Text reading "Your garden looks good in the summer, but what about in the off-season?" is at the top of the video.

The video shows a man showing his yard and front strip, which is made up of a variety of tall flowers and grasses. It has a sign that marks it as a wildlife habitat.

Transcript:

"I converted the grass strip out front of my house into a native wildflower micromeadow, and one comment I get pretty often is 'yeah, it looks great during the summer, but how bad does it look during the fall and winter time?'

"So here's what it looks like in the off-season. It may not look like much with these dead and dormant plants, but let's take a closer look at what's happening.

"These Woodland sunflower seed heads are like a winter bird feeder. These seeds will help the native birds get through the winter, and same thing for these New England asters and these Joe pye weeds.

"Also, these standing dead stems are very important for our native bees who hibernate inside the hollow stems over the winter, and there are probably a few hundred of these stems throughout my garden.

"Lastly, the stems catch and hold leaf litter on the ground all winter even when its windy, which provides great overwintering habitat for insects like butterflies, moths, and lightning bugs that hibernate under the leaf litter. It also builds up soil over time and improves conditions for your plants.

"So even though they may not look very attractive in the Winter, native gardens are still providing essential services to wildlife and to the ecosystem.

"And to be honest, a lot of the turf lawns around me don't look that great during the Winter either, and they provide none of these benefits. I'm just saying!"

/End Video Description]