signs of spring

Well, it has been quite a break since the last time I posted, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. I have a list of updates, as well as a "to-do list" of things I'd like to get a jump on and events I've learned about, and I thought I'd share that with you:

-Spring is just around the corner! I spotted these furry little buds on my walk through the neighborhood this week. What other signs of spring have you seen this week?

-Tree Planting update: last weekend I participated in the Friends of Trees neighborhood planting as a neighborhood coordinator. I don't live in NE Portland anymore, but those cute little streets with their short walkable blocks are close to my heart. This year, the King neighborhood got 28 new trees!

-NW Portland update: NW Portland has had some trees come down this year, one of which was an oldie in Couch Park that came down during the recent windstorm. There have been other trees on private property that I have noticed have gone missing, as well. I'll have updates soon, and try to keep you posted on anything I discover regarding plans for replanting.

-Upcoming events: The City of Gresham, Oregon, is hosting a tree-related event this fall. Check for updates on the Audubon Society website, http://www.audubonportland.org/. Below is a snippet from an email I received about the event:

• Bringing experts to speak on the connection between public health and safety and urban parks and trees.


• Foster discussion by citizens and civic leaders about these connections within East County.


• Identify ways citizens and leaders can strategically invest in a safer and a greener future for East County.

Safe & Green in East County
East County Urban Parks and Trees Summit
Exploring the Linkages between Urban Parks,
Trees, and Public Health & Safety
8:30am - 4:00pm Saturday October 4, 2008

the hell strip

I'm going to deviate from the NW Portland-centric theme of this blog for a moment to show you some examples of an urban place that is something of an obsession for me: the hell strip. The hell strip is a name I use to designate the planting strip and all that lives between the sidewalk and the street. My longtime obsession with this spot arises out of a strongly held view that it doesn't need to be hellish. These urban spaces are technically in the publically-owned right-of-way, and are home to many a tree. The homeowner who lives adjacent can implement all manner of landscaping weirdness here, but a common choice is to do nothing, as in the photo above.

Even worse is the idea that the planting strip is a messy place, and needs tidying up. Instead of planting anything, a homeowner will decide on the low-maintenance option: paving or bricks, like this:



Other landscaping decisions about this spot are beyond my understanding, like this fake plastic planter.


It's true the planting strip doesn't necessarily lend itself to a tree; they come in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes the spot is just too constrained for anything with a root system. But there are nice little touches you come across, even in constrained spots.


Even if the spot doesn't have trees and contribute ecologically to the city, it can have a meaningful impact aesthetically. One tasteful design choice is to echo the landscaping decisions of the private property. This tunnel of red foliage in NE Portland is a favorite example of this.


Ecologically, planting trees in these somewhat marginal spaces has a significant impact. Trees are important contributors to air quality, act as giant filters for stormwater runoff, and are the places where birds and other urban animals do a good portion of their living. What's more, the design decisions you make here can improve the walking experience for your everyday pedestrian, like me. Whatever your motivation, the message is simple: plant more trees.

Get to know your heritage.

I've been away from the blog for a bit, but haven't stopped thinking about trees. It's like a daily meditation for me now that I need to get up so early to walk the dog for my new job. I've also had some formal classroom introduction to the subject in the Urban Forestry class I'm taking at PSU summer term, so there's lots brewing in terms of my understanding of urban trees.

But back to the heritage trees. I knew there were a lot on my street, but I had no idea until I saw this map that there are actually 3 kinds of elm tree on my street- Dutch, English, American. That's not including this Bigleaf Linden nestled just at the foot of the west hills - one of my favorites. Do you know where your heritage trees are?

gone!

After searching around on flickr for "red furry tree", it turned up my missing tree: Sumac. More searching on Wikipedia reveals it's the class Magnioliopsida, which is why I'll say I guessed Magnolia. Some species are poisonous, but not this one. Native Americans used to roll it up with tobacco and smoke it; you can drink the juice of some species' berries or use it to treat leather. I liked it because its wintertime blooms really did cheer up this barren parking lot and give me something to look at while walking a certain pokey dog.

fenceline forest

It's hard to tell sometimes what's missing from a picture until you spend a lot of time looking at a picture. Can you tell what's missing here? I'll give a clue: it has lantern shaped blooms with red fuzzy fur-like stuff covering them. The photo below with the red house in the background was taken back in March. The photo on the bottom was taken two days ago. As you can (maybe) see, there is no more Magnolia leaning over the fence into the parking lot. At least I think it's a Magnolia--if anyone else can identify it, please do. I'll put a better photo in the next post that shows a close up so you can see what I mean by what's missing.

forest park

"Great woodland areas are the great life-giving elements of the city."
-City Planner E.H. Bennett, Greater Portland Plan

I've been heading up to my old haunts in Forest Park much as I can justify the time away from job applications and studying. Being away from the park for a while and then coming back to it always astonishes me. There is just so much green here, in so many different layers; coarse like hair here, soft and tendrilly there.

This inscription is on the back of a park bench up on Cumberland trail in the upper park. The first time I came upon this I remember being scandalized and delighted at once. I wish I knew who commissioned it.

focus

I've been struggling with my photography skills lately. I read a quote recently on a photography site about how it is easy to capture what you see in a photo, but harder to capture what you feel. Photographing trees and shrubs and bushes in neighborhood settings is not always easy. I find that I often need a building or some hardscape to enhance the subject--to place it somehow. But sometimes it gets old always trying to frame trees with a distinctive building corner or street sign. I realize that looking closer is sometimes the right answer.