Learn
more about the magnificent trees that grow in our world, and follow common Bay
Area street trees through the seasons. Seeing mature trees and trees in season may help you pick the best trees for your garden or landscape.
Oak mixed forest near Redding, California
Getting
Started
The importance of trees, and how plants are named, classified, and identified. My Example
Heading east from Iran, the Taj Majal is an example
of the Persian garden style, adapted by the Mughals in India. The Taj Majal was
built in Agra in northern India by the Mughal ruler, Shah Jahan, over a period of 22 years (1632 – 1654) as a tomb for his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The
beautiful white marble dome, and the exquisite, intricate geometric tile work
help make the mausoleum an important example of Mughal architecture (it is a
UNESCO World Heritage site).
Taj Majal in Agra, Northern India. Photo by RTQ, used with permission.
The Taj is situated between the banks of the river Yamua,
and a chahar-bagh or charbagh (garden). The garden is divided into four quadrants, each of
which is further subdivided into four quadrants. A raised central channel runs
between the entrance gate and tomb (originally providing irrigation).
Historically the garden at Taj Majal was planted with many
plants and flowers. According to Christopher Thacker, author of Thacker’s The History of Gardens, the charbagh
matched the formal gardens of Europe for their perfection.Under British rule, the plantings were
transformed to lawns; in Thacker’s opinion, the simpler plantings detract less
from the architecture.
Time for more garden history – this time I’m exploring Persian
gardens using Christopher Thacker’s The History of Gardens as my primary information source. According to Thacker,
to understand Persian gardens, you must appreciate the harsh climate and
environment of Iran - sweeping deserts, harsh and blazing sun, hot summers and
freezing winters, and minimal water. In juxtaposition, a Persian garden is a walled
sanctuary; shaded, lush, and cool; populated with exquisite and fragrant flowers; with water as its central focus.
Elements of the classic Persian garden include a central
fountain or pool, from which flows four shallow channels of water, which divide
the garden into four quadrants. The channels represent the four rivers in the Garden of Eden. The entire garden is surrounded by a wall for
privacy and security. Trees line the perimeter to provides shade. The four
quadrants are planted with flower beds and fruit trees, such as, iris, lilac,
narcissus, tulips, carnation, rose, pomegranate, citrus, cypress,and jasmine. A high platform or structure
provides a viewing point to survey the garden. Soft couches and carpets provide
a place to rest in the cool garden. There may be variations, but this theme is
central to Persian gardens.
Bagh-e Fin in Kashan, Iran (a UNESCO World Heritage site) - beautifully captured by Horizon.
You can see many elements of the Persian garden.
For more photos see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/horizon/28643552/.
As with general
garden history, early Persian gardens were hunting parks for rulers, sometimes
with the walled garden within. Persian gardens were later influenced by Islam
and writings in the Koran, which described gardens as paradise on earth. Tombs
were sometimes placed in the center of a garden, further emphasizing the destiny
of paradise for the entombed. As Islam spread east and west, so did the
influence of Persian gardening.
I’m anticipating Thanksgiving along with everyone else. I’ve
started making the pie crust, and I’m looking forward to gathering with my
folks, visiting from Alaska; my aunt, who lives locally; and my wonderful
husband. We have some movies lined up, dinner reservations (yes!), outings
planned, and tickets to the opera. We’ll miss our son terribly (Thanksgiving is
his favorite holiday), but we take comfort that he is with friends and his
lovely girlfriend in Alaska. And we’ll miss siblings, cousins, and extended
family spread all across the West!
Last year I wrote about the importance of gratitude and thankfulness for health and peace of mind. This year, I am sharing a link from an Eden by the Bay reader. Rachel Sussman has been studying some of world's oldest living things as part of a science, art, philosophy, and environmental project. The subjects of her study must be at least 2000 years old, just to meet her entrance criteria! Take a look:
Needless to say,
most of her subjects are plants, bacteria, or fungus. Their longevity is mind boggling and humbling. In most cases, their slow-paced lives are fragile and precarious. Their existence is marked by community and generations, not just the individual. Global Species Longevity - something to think, about while giving thanks and being grateful. Happy Thanksgiving!
Mom makes the best cranberry salad – full of coarsely ground
cranberry, celery, chopped walnuts, orange juice, and just the right blend of sweet and
tart. It would be easy enough to open a can of Ocean Spray Whole Cranberry Sauce
to serve with turkey dinner, but Mom makes her doctored version of the Joy of
Cooking recipe whenever we gather for a family Thanksgiving feast. Not only is
the salad tasty, but it brings with it a host of memories of Thanksgiving
dinners in Alaska, Southern California, and Northern California, and all the
dear people gathered around the table.
The cranberries we serve for the traditional Thanksgiving
celebration are native to acid bogs in the cooler latitudes of the northern
hemisphere. Vaccinium macrocarpon is
in the Ericaceae, or Heath family, and native to North America. Cranberries are
a low, evergreen shrub or vine 6 – 8 inches high and 3 - 7 feet long. Leaves
are oblong-elliptical to ¾ “ long. Flowers are dark pink in lateral clusters with
style and stamens fully exposed, and pollinated by bees. The fruit is a berry
about 5/16” long, which is initially white and then darkens to a deep red.
My brother-in-law (he and my sister are gentlemen ranchers in Oregon) spent a season farming cranberries in British Columbia early
in his career. They used the water harvesting method, where the bog is flooded with
6-8 inches of water, the berries raked or beaten from the vine and then skimmed
off the top. Take a look at the process - interesting!
Quercus
coccinea (Scarlet
Oak) is in the Fagaceae family, and native to the eastern United States. The
tree is deciduous, and key diagnostics include an upright, broad oval canopy
with wide horizontal branches. Leaves are alternate, simple, 4-6” long, bright
glossy green, obovate, with 5-9 deep lobes and wide circular sinuses, and turn
red in the fall in cold climates (in Dublin, leaves turn brown, and remain on
the tree all winter and into spring unless blown off with the wind). Flowers
are insignificant yellow-tan tassels that bloom in spring. Acorns are reddish
brown, oval, sessile or short stalked, with scales covering 1/3 – ½ of the nut.
Bark is smooth and white when young, becoming grayish brown and furrowed with
vertical ridges as it ages.
Quercus coccinea leaves - form and habit.
This tree sets down deep roots, and is an excellent street,
park, parkway or lawn shade tree. Deep watering helps establish the tree with
vigorous growth, and the tree does better with moderate moisture.
Winter - dried leaves remain on the tree until blown off.
Spring - flower tassels emerge, followed by fresh leaves.
Summer - light, airy canopy; the long petioles cause the leaves to "shimmer".
Fall - in a cooler climate the leaves would turn red; in Dublin, they turn shades of brown.
Robinia spp.
(Robinia) is in the Leguminosae family. It is native to central and eastern
United States, but has become naturalized throughout North America. The
two-tone version I see in Dublin is most likely a cultivar. The tree is
deciduous, and diagnostics include an open, upright oval canopy with upward reaching
branches. Leaves are slightly alternate, pinnately-compound, 12-18” long with
17-21 paired, ovate-oblong 1-2” long leaflets along the main rib. Flowers are pea-like
with a light fragrance, dark purple to pink, and hang in clusters. Legume seed
pods are interspersed among the leaves. Bark is reddish brown to gray, with
fissures and cracks with rounded scaly ridges.
Leaves and flowers - form and habit.
This tree tolerates heat and some drought. The wood is
brittle, and I have observed limb breakage, and even a tree split for no
obvious reason. It does reseed easily, which requires maintenance to control.
Winter - bare, upward reaching branches.
Spring - fresh leaves and many fragrant blossoms.
Summer - sporadic blooms and emerging seed pods.
Fall - leaves turn brown and drop, or are blown off.
Quercus dumosa (Nuttall's Scrub Oak) is
in the Fagaceae family. It is native to central California and Baja California; and
is found in the Coast Ranges, coastal islands, and San Bernardino Mountains in
Southern California. The tree is evergreen, and key diagnostics include a
dense, twiggy, irregular canopy (the twigs grow at right angles to branches). Leaves are alternate, simple, 5/8 to 1”,
shiny, dark green with whitish hairs and toothed margins. Flowers are insignificant
yellowish green, and tassel-like in spring. Acorns are brown, conical to
oblong, with a sharp taper and a scaled cup over 1/3 of the base. Bark is gray
and thin, with checkered fissures and peeling plates.
Quercus dumosa - leaf shape and habit.
This tree has deep, strong roots that can penetrate and hold
in rocky soil, and does well in a sunny location with dry well-drained soil
once established.
Winter - the dense canopy persists all through the winter.
Spring - the tassel-like flowers give the tree a yellow cast.
Summer - the canopy is irregular but provides shade.
Sequoia sempervirens (Coast
Redwood) is in the Taxodiaceae family. It is native to the Pacific coast of
California and Oregon, which makes it a surprising street tree in hot, inland Dublin.
Several groves are planted close to where I work; some of them seem to be doing quite well,
others look unhealthy.
The tree is evergreen, and key diagnostics include foliage
sprays of feathery, flat, glossy green, needle-like leaves, arranged in
alternate opposite, flat plane along green stems. Inconspicuous male and female
flowers occur on the same tree. Cones are brown, oval, ¾ - 1”, with woody
scales. Bark is dark brown to reddish, becoming deeply furrowed with age.
Sequoia sempervirens - needle shape and habit.
Requires deep watering and tolerates inland heat with water,
but does not do well in drought or with heavy alkaline soils.
Winter - tall, pyramidal shape contrasts with deciduous branches.
Spring - male and female cones, and fresh, green branch tips emerge.
Summer - the dense branches provide sidewalk shade, and shelter to birds and squirrels.
Fall - trees are watered during the dry season, but some are looking quite dry.
