Arborvitae — Latin for “tree of life” — is one of the most versatile and widely planted groups of evergreen trees and shrubs in the world. Whether you are looking for a towering privacy screen, a compact foundation plant, or a dwarf accent shrub for a container, there is an arborvitae variety perfectly suited for…
Thuja Green Giant (Thuja standishii × plicata) is one of the most popular fast-growing privacy trees in North America. It is hardy, dense, and relatively easy to grow. But even this resilient tree has its vulnerabilities. If you have noticed yellowing foliage, dying branches, or stunted growth, you are not alone. Many gardeners struggle silently…
Walk into a mature beech forest in autumn, and the experience stays with you. The smooth, silver-gray trunks rise like columns in a cathedral. The canopy closes overhead in a dense vault of copper and gold. The light filters through in warm, amber tones that feel almost liquid. There is a quality of silence in…
The first time most people truly notice a Tulip Tree, it is not because of the tree itself — it is because of the flowers. High up in the canopy, sometimes 60 or 70 feet above the ground, sit blooms that look almost too exotic to belong to a North American forest. They are large,…
There are trees that blend into the landscape, and then there are trees that announce themselves. The White Poplar (Populus alba) belongs firmly in the second category. When a breeze moves through its canopy, the leaves flip to reveal their bright white undersides. It is one of the most visually striking effects in the temperate…
There is something quietly remarkable about a tree that chooses to grow where most others give up. High on volcanic slopes, along wind-scoured ridgelines, and across the frost-hardened landscapes of northeast Asia, Erman’s Birch (Betula ermanii) stands firm. It is not the tallest birch in the world, nor the most widely planted. But it may…
If you have ever walked along a river bank in eastern North America and noticed a massive tree with bark that peels away in patches to reveal a creamy white, tan, and pale green surface beneath, you were almost certainly standing next to an American Sycamore. This tree is hard to miss, and once you…
Some trees are beautiful. Some are useful. And some carry centuries of history, medicine, folklore, and fragrance all within a single trunk. Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is all of these things at once. I remember the first time someone handed me a fresh sassafras leaf and told me to crush it between my fingers. The scent…
Few plants in the world have commanded as much reverence, poetic devotion, and spiritual significance as Magnolia champaca — a tree whose golden blossoms produce what many perfumers, botanists, and flower lovers consider the most intoxicating natural fragrance on Earth. The scent is warm, deeply floral, with layers of orange, tea, spice, and honey that…
Ask any child who has walked barefoot across a lawn in the American South what they think of the Sweetgum tree, and you will likely hear one word: “Ouch.” Those spiky, golf-ball-sized seed balls are infamous — a nuisance underfoot, a hazard on driveways, and the subject of frustration for homeowners who spend autumn weekends…