WHO KNEW There Are So Many Reasons to Plant Trees and Bushes?

You’ve heard it’s a great idea to plant trees and bushes so often now that it might sound like a lot of hype, but it isn’t. Trees sequester the carbon dioxide we need to get rid of and provide the clean oxygen we need to thrive. And as those trees continue to grow, they will increasingly provide shade for our homes and businesses to help us, as well as the animals living nearby, stay cooler as our world warms. See: https://xerces.org/blog/climate-news-round-up-august-2019#:~:text=Because%20it%20is%20the%20process,it%20for%20decades%20or%20centuries A member of C3 called this article Xerces’ ODE to trees and carbon sequestration.

Planting trees will also help to support biodiversity by attracting pollinators, like bees to find sustenance in the pollen of the apple trees, blueberry and raspberry bushes, rhododendrons and azaleas. In turn, they pollinate other fruit and vegetable plants that produce the foods we love.

Some of the more popular of our many native trees are Dogwoods, American Chestnuts, Hawthorns, Sugar Maples, Red Oaks (sequester a lot of CO2), and Butternuts. Highbush Blueberries, Elderberrys, and Winterberrys are all shrubs that provide abundant food for birds. See also: extension.unh.edu and search for native trees and shrubs.

Adding trees and bushes reduces lawn and your mowing and adds some interesting texture to your landscaping while making your environment healthier. You can transplant smaller versions of the trees already in your yard or those of your friends, give trees as presents to people in your family (or friends), or wait for the end of the season sales (sometimes 50% or more off) to get the most bang for your buck. Then watch them mature into something of beauty.