Summer

The weathered stone was cool and smooth, flocked here and there with moss, its jagged edges softened by the elements and constant patter of traffic.  Flanked on each side, the perennials began to crowd the path, decked in seasonal splendor and hue.  Their blooms perfumed the air and extended towards…

Wilted and withered, Summer began to rot on the vine.  Her once dewy, fresh face grew sallow and somber under the impossible weight of hot, humid temperatures and lack of moisture.  Her youth and vigor were fading fast.   As season’s change and weather cycles, rain can seemingly turn off…

Wishing you a safe and Happy Independence Day! “America is the greatest, freest and most decent society in existence. It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world.”…

  We’ve slogged through June in hip waders amidst the persistent leaden, gray malaise.  The air largely unstable and ostensibly resentful, like a teenage girl scorned.  The few sunny days provided fleeting relief, but we were wary and suspicious, and we were right to be.   With Summer’s official arrival, and the…

Dense and saturated, the air made laborious every breath, every movement in its crushing heft.  Thick with ill intent, the humidity seemed to conspire with gravity, dragging us down into the quick sand of early Summer.  Wilted and withered, nightfall seemed a welcome relief until the mosquitoes made their debut. …

  The air was gauzy and slight until the fog slithered in on its belly, leaching into every crevice, swallowing the landscape whole.  The constant rain and gray skies had begun to loom large over our yards and gardens, like a soggy, itchy blanket.  Irritating both humans and plants alike.   Weeds,…

  The landscape became gilded in the warm, setting sun before donning the cool, amethyst robe of twilight.  Stars flickered in the silken, night sky as moths fluttered in the spaces in between.  Here and there, lumbering beetles shuffled towards the warmth of porch lights, and their appearance made a perfect…

The humidity enveloped the landscape, constricting ever tighter, until flora and fauna wilted.   Breathless, lifeless, and defeated, Summer had officially arrived in all its oppressive glory.   Heat stress is a real thing and can adversely affect our plants.  When temperatures start to top 85 degrees, plants will begin to wilt and curl…

She stood slender and tall, majestic and noble, clad in her sapphire gown of petals and glittering diamonds of dew.  She was, at once, royal and proud, yet demure and gracious.  Posturing amidst the wind and rain.  A beacon of loveliness and tenacity.  A sign of Summer’s emergence. This weekend we’ll be celebrating Memorial…

  The sallow tones of late Summer were exacerbated by the ripened afternoon sun that made visible every flaw and anomaly.  A fine, golden mist was suspended in the thick, gummy air, never quite making it to the ground.  It fell silently and subtly, dampening nothing.   The mist was not falling…

I was right…kind of, well, not really.  A few weeks back as I was complaining about the heat and humidity, I introduced the thought of a solar vortex, likening it to this winter’s polar vortex but with opposite effect.  As it turns out, the polar vortex is alive and well and can…

  We love our trees.  We love our trees as landscapers, as homeowners, and as human beings.  We value their beauty, shade, and environmental significance.  Trees are valuable.  But can you put a price on their value?  Can you quantitatively estimate their value…in dollars?  The answer is yes.   The USDA…