Bright and Shiny

One of the new denizens of progress in Provo. While I don't object to a new conference center, I wish they had designed it with more charm and less glitter and flash. This is especially important since the site is in the historic center of the town. 

A clue could have been taken from the buildings they demolished to make room for it. Color of the brick could have been matched in some of the glass that is not needed for its translucence. 

Larger sections of traditional materials could have been incorporated throughout the exterior to tie the building into the surrounding cityscape. 

Adornments echoing late 19th and early 20th styles could have been added to show respect for the past of the area.

Instead, Provo now has a new building that says nothing about Provo except they are desperate to be something else. Something new, something fresh, something--bland.

So there you have it. But then again, I'm just a gardener, maybe I have it wrong. Please, tell me what you think...

Nuts Varieties for Utah

A columnar English oak can be grown in
many suburban gardens with out taking
over the full lot.

One of the most neglected plants in the edible landscape is the nut tree. In my native Utah, walnut trees are a common sight, but often outgrow the space they are planted in.

Below, I've put together a list of trees that can be planted on a typical quarter acre lot. Not all of them are the best choices for all home owners. When choosing a nut tree remember to account for size at maturity, how quickly it produces, how well the nuts will store, and yearly productivity. And don't forget personal taste!

Common Name Scientific name Cultivar Height Width Notes Bur oak Quercus macrocarpa 70-80' 80-90' Big prickly acorns, favorite ammunition for kids. Swamp white oak Quercus bicolor 50-60' 60-70' Great for wetter areas. Will get chlorotic (yellow) leaves in alkali soils. English oak Quercus robur species 40-60' 40-60 Susceptible to mildew and aphids. Fastigiata 50-60 10-15' Will get wider after three or four decades. Susceptible to the same pests as the species. Gamble (scrub) oak Quercus gambelii 15-25' 15-20' Native oak growing in clonal clumps with small acorns that attract bluejays. Given enough time and little maintenance clumps may get to be quit large. Almond Prunus dulcis All-in-One 15-20' 15' Hardy to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Best in warmer valley areas. Hall 20-30' 20' Best with a pollinator, Joranolo or Texas. Small slightly bitter nut. Starts blooming with apricots and ends with the peaches. Mission 20-30' 20' Small nut with a harder than usual shell. Late bloomer and pollinates best with Hall or Nonpareil. Filbert (hazel) Corylus 15-20' 15' Varieties vary greatly depending on where you buy them. Make sure you have an appropriate pollinator. English walnut Juglans regia 60' 60' Many varieties, make sure you get one listed as 'Carpathian' type for good winter hardiness. Nuts should be small to medium and well sealed for best quality. Butternut Juglans cenerea 50-60' 50-60' The tastiest nut in the Juglans genus but do not stand under the tree when they fall. The nuts are heavy enough to do damage. Apricot Prunus armeniaca Chinese (Mormon) up to 38' Use only sweet pit varieties as a nut, others are toxic. Piñon Pine Pinus edulis 30-65' 25 years to cropping. Will only crop heavily every third year. Single-leaf Piñon Pinus monophylla 30-65' 25 years to cropping. Will only crop heavily every third year.

Picking Permaculture Plants for Utah

Have you ever wanted to grow a food forest but didn't know how? Join TreeUtah and me at the Day-Riverside Library in Salt Lake City. I will be covering the basics of what Utah-based food forest can provide and what to plant to make it happen.

TreeUtah’s Autumn Permaculture Series: Picking Permaculture Plants for Utah

Saturday, Sep 24  10:00am - 12:30pm Day-Riverside Library 1575 West 1000 North Register at: http://treeutah.org/events/event-registration/

There will be a $10 registration donation for TreeUtah. A larger donation never hurt!

Garden Villains

A Russian olive is a beautiful and potentially
useful tree. Unfortunately birds are spreading 

this tree's seeds in neighboring yards, fields, 

and wild land areas.

I have some friends that are so busy being wowed by plants in general that they will tell you the virtue of dandelions, amaranth, and plantains.


And I don't have a problem with that. Many weeds are useful and only minor nuisances at worst. But there are many that will do extreme damage to landscapes and nativescapes. 


The weeds that are most annoying to me are trees. This is because most people see a tree and assume that it must be good because it is a tree. They refuse to see that the wrong tree is just as bad as the wrong anything.


The traits that make a tree a weed are the same ones that make any plant a weed:

• Invasive  The plant is aggressive and moves into new areas easily.
• Monoculture  A single species dominates an area, allowing for no competition or other niches.
• Selected Displacement  A plant that totally out-competes a valued (usually native) plant.
• Dangerous  A species that creates an unreasonable hazard. Remember all trees have some danger.

The weed trees in your area are likely to be different than the ones I am familiar with. You will only find them by researching and asking the right people the right questions.  To start with, you could ask the local urban forester, a park ranger, an ecology professor, or a local conversation group.

As for the right questions, ask if the trees you are interested in meet any of the criteria above. After you ask a few experts you will likely learn more about the tree than you ever thought possible.

Remember good gardening is not just hard work, it is the process of learning and finding better ways of doing things. Especially if you are doing something that is going to be around for a while!

Guerilla Gardening?

Despite my passion for native plants and edible landscapes (read permaculture), I make most of my living as a gardener by mowing lawns on foreclosed homes.

Although it is amazing what will stay alive in Utah's hot, dry summer in an unirrigated landscape, it is more amazing to see what food manages to survive. On a recent Monday I ate wheat, mulberries, and raspberries from empty houses.

Last year grapes, strawberries, walnuts, apples, and peaches were all on the menu in season. Not all of them were in prime condition, but most were very good.

Apricots, not quite ripe.

But that's the funny thing about unused properties, they are every bit as good as the ones the rest of us live on. They just aren't getting the same care.


Of course any care would increase the quantity and quality of the food.... You see where I'm taking this don't you? If every foreclosed or abandoned house had a neighbor or two that were 'helping', that is taking care of watering, pruning, or even planting, how much food could be produced?

Raspberries, I already ate the ripe ones.

Now, before I go any further, I must note that for this to be legal the property owner or their agent must give permission for such wild activities. The permission is hard to get and even if you get it, there is no protection for the plants or those who kept them alive when the house is sold.


Under the best conditions you would still have to share it with me and my fellow workers. Under the worst you could be prosecuted  for trespassing or other criminal activities, if you did not get proper approval.

But for the time being let's say it is taken care of, and good land is being put back to good use. If there is too much food produced, share it with the local homeless shelter. Nearby apartment dwellers could be invited to work plots and make better lives for themselves.


I realize that I sound utopian, but the reality is that anything not being used will deteriorate and crumble. By using it we make the world a better place.


Am I dreaming? Definitely, but since that is the only way to get to a better world, I'll stick with it. Would you like to join me? It will be worth it.