Urban Discoveries Baltimore

A month ago I saw New Orleans for the first time, and while I was there I visited the historic plantation home of a debauched, tubercular French Creole couple. The antebellum house was built on the site of two matching rows of massive oak trees. These trees live for six hundred years, and they’re roughly middle-aged today. No one knows who planted them, but they make for a stunning and open-ended legacy. Coming back home, I was struck by how tough it is to cook up anything quite so cinematic here in Smalltimore. Until now!

The Growing Home Campaign wants you to plant a tree in your own front (or back) yard. And while they probably don’t have a set of fourteen majestic live oaks in mind, they are willing to put their (taxpayer) money where their mouth is. Specifically, the County-sponsored program is giving away coupons for $10 off the purchase of a tree, as long as you promise to plant it on your property. And get cracking: the offer’s only good for the first 10,000 served.

Mostly, though, the Growing Home Campaign just wants to talk––a lot––about trees and planting them. Different kinds, different reasons, different methods. The web site is surprisingly engaging, primarily because much of the information on it is the sort of thing you feel like you could have figured out on your own, but you didn’t. Some examples: don’t plant tall-growing trees near utility lines; plant evergreens next your house to cut both the winter wind and your heating bill. Of the top nine recommended trees, the prize for best name goes to (no contest here) the ‘Shadblow Serviceberry.’ All in all, it’s hard to argue with the cause, and besides, you get to scratch at least one item off your José Martí list.

What kind of tree (excluding ‘money’) would you most like to have in your yard?

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