We had a bit of fun last week, playing in a New Jersey small town park, grandsons on the playground, and grandpa scoping out a Tree Walk — a series of trees, including a giant northern red oak with a trunk diameter of about 60-inches. (I did not bring along my diameter tape.)
It was an opportunity for a five-year-old Pramuk to be introduced to terms like “inflorescence” and “phyllotaxy.”
The Parks Department, apparently long ago, created an easily walkable tour of some of the trees that can do well in that part of the country. Some, we do not see here in the Bay Area, like lacebark pine (Pinus bungeana). Others can do well here but are generally not well known, like American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana). Napa has a couple of nice specimens as sidewalk trees by the County Courthouse at the southwest corner of Third Street and Main. It is a very good prospect where a small to medium size spreading, tough tree with good fall color is needed, as long as it gets moderate irrigation and not too much extreme afternoon heat…