Beautify Your Back Yard!

Who doesn’t love trees? Trees add beauty, reduce your energy bills, and add an average of 10 percent to your property value. Add some backyard privacy, reduce sound, and improve your home’s value by adding gorgeous trees to your yard. And adding trees will help you go green by helping to improve water quality while reducing runoff and erosion. One acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen — enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people.

If you look out at your yard and feel that something’s missing, a well-landscaped lawn with a towering tree will dramatically improve your view. At Philadelphia Magazine’s 2014 Design Home, you’ll be able to take in the loveliness of a yard spotted with trees. And as the leaves begin to change, it’s the perfect time of year to take in the vibrant orange and red colors of fall. The Design Home features a wonderfully manicured lawn complete with a patio, pool, and loads of beautiful plants inspire you to quickly and easily improve your own home.

And thanks to Plant One Million, a regional partnership led by PHS, you’ll be seeing a lot more trees around the area, too. The goal is to plant one million trees throughout 13 counties in southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware. Ultimately restoring the tree canopy cover—the area of land shaded by trees—in the Greater Philadelphia Region to 30 percent. The Plant One Million regional partnership reached a total of 458,977 trees this year. And in 2015, Plant One Million partners are looking forward to reaching the half-million mark.

Grab a shovel and join the Plant One Million effort. To find a planting near you, please visit the PHS Plant One Million interactive map and left click on the tree closest to the neighborhood where you would like to volunteer. Plantings in special need of volunteer assistance include:

• Mount Airy – Plant 63 trees with WMAN Tree Tenders on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 9 a.m. Contact Doris Kessler at 215.242.0651 or doriskessler@me.com
• Center City – Plant 15 trees with Friends of Schuylkill River Park on Saturday, Nov. 15. Meet at 2042 Kater St. Contact Carolyn at 215.510.7302 or fsrptreetenders@phillyparks.org
• Bensalem School District – Help plant 50 trees on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. at Cecilia Snyder Middle School, 3330 Hulmeville Road, Bensalem, PA 19020. Contact Barley Van Clief at bvanclief@pennhort.org
• Montgomery County Community College – Plant 50 trees on Friday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. at 1318 Morris Road (entrance between Dekalb and Cathcart Road) in Blue Bell, PA 19422. Contact Jerry Coleman at jcoleman@mc3.edu

Learn more about tree care at a PHS Tree Tenders Basic Training course. The next session begins on Saturday, January 24, at PHS. This two-session class will cover the basics of tree planting and care including tree biology, identification,  stresses, planting, pruning and root care. Use this fantastic information to up your home’s property value and improve the view out your back window. For more information or to register, click here.