"Trees are really cannibals..."

"...Most people don't know that." -- Kirk W.

Kirk was a contractor with us at work for some time. He's a landscape architect and he and I spent many, many hours in the field working on a new park design. During the construction process, we were concerned with protecting some nice big post oaks. One good way to do that is to give them a nice wide (not too thick) layer of mulch which will protect the roots and eventually break down into some nice nutrients.

While overseeing some mulch and fencing around the said post oaks one day, we both came to the very wise realization that trees are, after all, cannibals.

My live oaks in the front yard have never had the benefit of cannibalism, er, mulch and are much the worse for wear. They certainly don't look like trees should that have been in the ground over four years. One has already been damaged at the base and probably will need to be removed in coming years.


But to help them out as best I can, Big I and I put down some newspaper and mulch to help fend off the bermuda grass. Not only did Big I supervise, he did the most important job of all: holding the blanket down.




One down. Eventually we'll make real, edged beds to go around them, but for now this will do. Hopefully I'll be able to finish the other one this week.