Landscape Management, February 2011

PROGRESS 50 YEARS OF INDUSTRY TRENDS BY NICOLE WISNIEWSKI The power of landscaping Trees shrubs plants and turf continue to provide bene ts to urban areas LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET FEBRUARY 2011 10 PHOTO BY ISTOCK INTERNATIONAL INC THEN NOW Today trees shrubs and plants are important assets to the city of Portland OR just as they were in 1969 Beautify with trees T his was the theme of 1969 s International Shade Tree Conference as reported in the November 1969 issue of Weeds Trees Turf which is known today as Landscape Management The group met at the Portland Hilton Hotel in Oregon To capture the atmosphere and interest of a particular area to design in a way that ts the regions historical background the hotel chain incorporated a park with 70 trees more than 100 shrubs a dozen different ground covers several thousand ower bulbs a number of ferns and vines a swimming pool and the usual tables and chairs on its second story There was a concern when the hotel was being planned in 1960 about what was going to happen to downtown as outlying shopping centers became more numerous They realized using trees turf shrubs and owers in the downtown shopping centers was bringing people in Lots of landscaping seems to capture peoples fancy explained Ford Montgomery Portland Hilton general manager at the time People feel a close relationship with living things In 42 years that hasnt changed Portland is proud of its parks and its legacy of preserving open spaces And so are numerous other large metropolitan cities across the U S In fact the environmental lifestyle and economic bene ts of green spaces have not only been researched and logged thoroughly they are the reasons many urban environments continue to add green spaces within their boundaries Statistics recorded over the years by many groups including Project Ever Green have shown landscapings positive effects Trees in a parking lot can reduce on site heat buildup decrease runoff and enhance nighttime cool downs A test in a mall parking lot in Huntsville AL showed a 31 degree difference between shaded and unshaded areas Lawns are 30 degrees cooler than asphalt and 14 degrees cooler than bare soil in the heat of summer In Atlanta temperatures have climbed 5 to 8 degrees higher than surrounding countryside where developers bulldozed 380000 acres between 1973 and 1999 according to NASA Scientists predict the heavily developed corridor between Boston and Washington will be the next big hot zone The Virginia Cooperative Extension says a dense cover of plants and mulch holds soil in place keeping sediment out of lakes streams storm drains and roads and reducing ooding mudslides and dust storms Trees shrubs and turf remove smoke dust and other pollutants from the air Every tree thats subtracted from a citys ecosystem means some particulate pollution remains that should have been ltered out In Washington that amounts to 540 extra tons each year according to Time Magazine One tree can remove 26 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually equaling 11000 miles of car emissions One Virginia Cooperative Extension study showed that 1 acre of trees has the ability to remove 13 tons of particles and gases annually Ah the power of landscaping In 1969 the Portland Hilton sacri ced income producing rooms to make space for 50000 worth of it And says Montgomery we cannot afford not to have it now The atmosphere landscaping creates Montgomery adds is where people will go In 50 years some things dont change in fact they grow