Martin Ford
Getting Your Yard Ready For Spring
Spring is calling – what to pay attention to? Our gardens include hard spaces and paths and sometimes play areas which we clean up after...
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Martin Ford
Dec 13, 20222 min
Christmas Trees – A Good Idea or Not?
Why do we choose to cut down a young tree and take it indoors each Christmas? Is it because we have a love of trees and want to have one...
Martin Ford
Aug 18, 20221 min
2022 Annual Downtown Tree Walk
Sept 17, 2022 at 2pm What: Short tree walk in downtown Guelph with focus on how to plant city trees for optimal health, success, and...
Martin Ford
Sep 18, 20211 min
Tree Walk in Downtown Guelph
Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 2pm to 3:30pm Learn how to read the health of a tree, its history, and anticipated lifespan. Find out how we...
Martin Ford
Sep 7, 20212 min
‘Tidy’ versus ‘natural design’ in your landscape
When our home gardens and naturalized public spaces are subject to the formal expectation of being tidied easily and designed to look...
Martin Ford
Apr 15, 20211 min
Five Garden Features Children Love Other Than A Lawn
Shade and shadow provided by trees and tall shrubs are places children enjoy playing under and near - it excites their imagination and...
Martin Ford
Apr 12, 20211 min
Five important factors which will influence your decision on where to plant trees in your garden:
Framing views you prefer and at the same time placing groups of trees and tall shrubs to mask less desirable angles Groups of trees...
Martin Ford
Dec 30, 20201 min
SERIES: TOP TREES for Urban Home Landscapes
Our ‘Top Trees’ series highlights Martin’s favourite trees *under 10 metres* to use in urban home landscape designs - except for Top...
Martin Ford
Nov 16, 20202 min
Fallen leaves are solid gold
Darwin studied earthworms for decades before he wrote his final paper concluding that earthworms are responsible for creating our soils –...
Martin Ford
Nov 16, 20203 min
The 'danger' of guaranteeing newly planted trees
A nursery grown tree has had its root system minimized to make it lighter to transport and to reduce transplant shock. To still enable...
Martin Ford
Oct 15, 20203 min
Selective leaf colour change in trees
The changes of colour in sugar maples at autumn time give us a vivid picture of this species’ internal process of readying itself for the...
Martin Ford
Oct 15, 20208 min
Top "Classic Canadian" Trees for Urban Home Landscapes (Zone 5)
Our ‘Top Trees’ series typically highlights Martin’s favourite trees 'under 10 metres' for use in urban home landscapes – not so this...
Martin Ford
Sep 29, 20201 min
Tree Walk in Downtown Guelph
Saturday, October 10, 2020 at 2pm Learn to read trees - what makes our city trees happy and healthy? Find out how we can each do our part...
Martin Ford
Sep 15, 20202 min
Colour, Flower & Fruit ~ Top 20 Benefits of Trees
We're continuing our countdown of favourite ways that trees benefit our health and our communities. #7. Colour, Flower & Fruit We expect...
Martin Ford
Sep 15, 20202 min
Trees are the solar panels that cities need
Trees save energy in many ways; solar panels only produce electricity. Their shade provides the obvious savings, but trees also slow...
Martin Ford
Aug 18, 20202 min
Trees Connect Us All ~ Top 20 Benefits of Trees
We're continuing our countdown of favourite ways that trees benefit our health and our communities. #6. Trees Connect Us All As children...
Martin Ford
Aug 18, 20202 min
Why tree growth slows and stops in August
It seems odd that a tree would stop growing so far ahead of the cold winter months, but there are other factors at play which are not...
Martin Ford
Jul 24, 20202 min
Children's Love of Trees ~ Top 20 Benefits of Trees
We're continuing our countdown of favourite ways that trees benefit our health and our communities. #5. Children's Love of Trees To a...
Martin Ford
Jul 15, 20206 min
Top Trees of Striking Form Under 10 Metres for Urban Home Landscapes (Zone 5)
Our ‘Top Trees’ series highlights Martin’s favourite trees under 10 metres for use in urban home landscapes. This month, we showcase some...
Martin Ford
Jul 14, 20202 min
Watering trees is essential in summer's heat
The trees we plant in our gardens and streets have been grown in nurseries where their roots have been pruned and controlled to create a...
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