Lasting memories

Trees symbolize strength, life, and continuity. They are perfect memorials for those we hold dear or events we wish to remember. As a result, an entire industry is dedicated to planting trees for remembrance. As clever marketing goes, the concept has been borrowed...

The oak-to-shark ratio

For quite some time I despaired at the public’s lack of knowledge of trees. I failed to understand why they couldn’t tell one tree from the other. Just the common ones, I didn’t want everyone to be a closet dendrologist. I felt that it was reasonable for most people...

Botanical Provenance (2)

Botanical Provenance; Culture and origin Provenance (prɒv(ə)nəns) noun: the place of origin or earliest known history of something. With provenance comes authenticity, you know what it is, where it came from and where it’s been. When choosing plants it is important to...

Mild speculation and questionable returns

There is a tree that I drive past on my way to work. I call it my tree, but that’s a stretch and calling it a tree isn’t much better. A green blob would be a more accurate description – a blob maybe 4m tall, khaki in colour with a crusty beige brown trunk. Hardly a...

The substance of being hollow

As you read this you are probably sitting in a room that is hollow; a building with walls and empty internal spaces, rooms. You could be in your work vehicle; a hollow structure with outside walls and an inside space, the cab. You may well be drinking from a cup, can...

The age of wisdom

Recently I have had cause to rue the age of the arboriculture industry here in New Zealand; rue not being word one normally would or indeed should use, but it seemed better than bewail or lament. Anyway, I was feeling a bit stink about the arboricultural industry in...