Finally, it’s ok to be green, even recycling is cool. When my kids were younger, they often rolled their eyes about our strict recycling habits. It didn’t help that the schools didn’t reinforce recycling much then either. For that matter, if the town hadn’t said you had to, I don’t think many people would have recycled at all.



Back in the day, our large closely-knit family celebrated birthdays as major social events. In my home twice a year, an endless supply of relatives would arrive, one after another, filling our home with love and laughter. For meals, I used a collection of china dishes I had – mimicking a mismatched mad hatter tea party look. But, with short supplies, that meant they needed to be washed for birthday cake. Relatives often scolded me for the extra work I caused, arguing that using paper plates wouldn’t kill that many trees!

“Save the trees” has long been a favorite motto but I think “trees save us” is closer to the truth. Trees serve an enviable role in the air we breath. As nature’s air cleaners, trees take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, pretty life-giving stuff! They also give off moisture and cool the air through water evaporation and shade. They work like huge pumps – cycling water up from the earth and back into the air. A 100-foot tree can take 11,000 gallons of water from the soil and breathe it into the air in a single growing season. Trees do so much for us – it practically makes them relatives.

Once my nephew complained that his front lawn and shrubs were baking in the hot summer sun. When I suggested he plant a tree for shade he balked at the idea of all those leaves he would have to rake in the fall. I mentioned there are tons of trees to choose from with small leaves that will either blow away or decompose quickly, but he wouldn’t hear me. Not wanting to be a lecturing aunt, I didn’t mention that raking is good exercise; my instinct told me I might get the hairy eyeball for that comment.

Planting trees strategically around your home can reduce energy bills up to 30 percent. Typically tree shade is a whopping 10 degrees cooler. Planting to the east and west of your house will give you cool morning and afternoon shade and minimize heat radiating from blacktop driveways. Choosing a deciduious tree, one that looses its leaves in the fall, lets the winter sun warm your home. Reduce energy bills further by planting dense evergreens on the windiest side of your house. Evergreen shrubs, planted around the foundation, help minimize heat escaping through outside walls and cuts down on the cold and wind getting in.

Here’s a handy list of trees by size. Remember to call your local utility company before you plant. They will come to your house – free of charge – and mark where the utility lines are. The best time to plant a tree is late winter-early spring after the ground thaws and before the trees bud. Water your newly planted tree well for the first year and it will grow tall and protect your home – just like family.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
The next best time is now.”
- Chinese proverb

The National Arbor Society has a great website with photos and tons of information
as well as great deals on trees. Go to www.arborday.org or just click on the link
near the bottom of the index on the left.

Small Trees-15’-30’ tall at maturity:

Trident Maple, 
Amur Maple, 
Canvon Maple, 
Tartarian Maple, 
Shantung Maple, 
Serviceberry, 
Redbud, 
Thornless Cockspur Hawthorn, 
Lavelle Hawthorn, 
Green Hawthorn, 
Amur Maackia, 
Crabapple, and Japanese Tree Lilac

Medium Trees-30’-45’ tall at maturity:

Hedge Maple, 
Purpleblow Maple, 
European Hornbeam, 
Katsuratree, 
American Yellowwood, 
Hardy Rubber Tree, 
Goldenraintree, 
American Hophornbeam, 
Amur Cork Tree, 
Sargent Cherry, 
Sawtooth Oak,  and Lacebark Chinese Elm

Large Trees-45’ and taller at maturity:

Black Maple, 
Norway Maple, 
Red Maple, 
Sugar Maple, 
Black Alder, 
Turkish Filbert, 
White Ash, 
Green Ash, 
Gingko, 
Honeylocust, 
Kentucky Coffeetree, 
Sweetgum, 
Black Tupelo, 
London Planetree, 
White Oak, 
Swamp White Oak, 
Scarlet Oak, 
Shingle Oak, 
Burr Oak, 
Chinkapin Oak, 
Pin Oak, 
Chestnut Oak, 
English Oak, 
Red Oak, 
Shumard Oak, 
Black Oak, 
Japanese Pagoda Tree, 
Baldcypress, 
American Linden (Basswood), 
Littleleaf Linden, 
Crimean Linden, 
Silver Linden, 
and Japanese Zelkova

Visit gardeningwhereyouare.com for more gardening tips.