by Mark Roberts | Jul 9, 2018 | Nature, Trees
I love the fact that trees don’t read books and that the laws of nature don’t always seem to apply to nature. I love this, and to serve as a constant reminder I have my very own illiterate disobedient tree in my backyard. It is a cutting from an old apple tree. The...
by Mark Roberts | Jun 28, 2018 | Trees
Who would have thought the word ‘duff’ could have so many different meanings? I’ve just searched it on the internet and the international variations are quite… extreme. In my mind, ‘up the duff’ was going to be a slightly suggestive heading connecting urban soil to...
by Mark Roberts | May 22, 2018 | Trees
Many years ago, I met a horse whisperer. I was flying first-class and it was the first time I had been up-front during a long-haul flight. It was an upgrade of an upgrade and I was thoroughly enjoying the experience – as one does when is served pre-take off...
by Mark Roberts | Apr 28, 2018 | Trees
I found myself needing to very accurately age some trees. The margin of error required for the work was plus or minus months, not give or take a few years. After trying every conceivable option, including photos, sales records, comparative plantings and saying no, I...
by Mark Roberts | Apr 22, 2018 | Trees
When I was a young arborist I did terrible things. Terrible, arboricultural things – I’ll keep this professional and not a self-indulgent personal narrative (I’ll save that until I am old and want to embarrass my children). When I was a young arborist I did terrible...
by Mark Roberts | Mar 31, 2018 | Trees
I have been commissioned by my local City Council to create some Urban Monoliths. I’m not sure the title is correct; a monolith is a large single upright block of stone serving as a pillar or monument. My monoliths will be wooden, they will be discretely hidden away...
