More Signs of Spring

I was surprised to see this bloom above emerging from gaps between our shoreline boulders. This is the bloom of the variegated giant butterbur (Petasites japonicus 'Variegatus') that is better know for it's huge tropical leaves (with splashes of yellow and cream) that spreads like wildfire. Hardy to zone 5, this rampant perennial blooms before the leaves and this early blossom above will open to form a fragrant whitish/yellow flower cluster. Petasites is very aggressive in damp, open soils (be warned!). We planted it years ago in these gaps so it would be contained. Note the emerging crocuses to the left. We have plenty of crocus in bloom now, particularly in those "hot spots" along sidewalks or near rocks that have radiant heat from the sun. Lots of snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) as well. What a great weekend by the way! I did my April gardening clean-up this weekend and was glad that I did.

Great Grumpy turnout again today although it was a bit rainy. The guys dumped out our luminaries from the lights show and hauled various items around. Marv and Terry hauled out some containers and the carpenters kept busy with various projects. Marianne and Janice were here as well and Dr. Gredler ran some loads to the dump and is working on topdressing a turf area out in the gardens. I took a walk with Jerry and we came up with some ideas for the Japanese garden although the primary "spring push" will have to be tidying up. Our current pond level will start to flood that garden again with another 12" of rising water which will hopefully not happen!

With Arbor Day coming up on April 24th (always the last Fri. of that month) it's important to get children involved with tree planting and educate them as to the importance and value of trees in the landscape. I've plagarized some information from the Morton Arboretum website that is quite interesting in terms of quantitative facts on the value of trees. At the bottom of this post is a shot of our 'Princeton Gold' Norway maple (Acer platanoides).

The Chicago Urban Forest Climate Project (US Forest Service 1991) was a three-year study of the environmental impacts of the urban forest of the Chicago region. It found that the estimated 50.8 million trees in Cook and DuPage County combined contributed the following benefits.

Carbon Sequestration
Store an estimated 6.1 million tons of carbon
Further studies led to the estimate that 100 mature trees remove five tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year-equivalent to emissions from 1 car/year

Air Quality Improvements
The trees in our region remove these pollutants from our air
17 tons of CO
93 tons of SO2
98 tons of NO2
210 tons of O3
224 tons of particulate matter

Energy Savings
Optimally placed landscape shade trees could reduce local cooling energy use for 1.3%, cooling energy use by 7%, and peak cooling energy use by 6%
Increasing the region's tree canopy by 10% could reduce total heating and cooling energy by 5-10%
Reduced air-conditioning demands avoids CO2 generated from 'peak' energy production which is usually coal generated in Illinois.

Stormwater Management

The US Forest Service estimates 100 mature trees intercept about 250,000 gallons of rainfall per year in their crowns, reducing runoff of polluted stormwater.

Managing the Urban Forest for Environmental Benefits
Benefits depend on healthy trees
Large healthy trees remove 60-70 times more pollution than small trees
Large healthy trees sequester up to 1,000 more CO2 than small trees
Trees require quality care to remain healthy
Forestry program needs continued advocacy and support

The cultivation of trees is the cultivation of the good, the beautiful, and the ennobling.

- J. Sterling Morton