A recent news blip mentioned research that shows we Americans are largely ignorant of the natural world around us. Survey participants were unable to identify many of the most common plants, trees and flowers that we encounter day after day. That's why school programs that engage kids by making the garden an extension of the classroom are so very important. What we overlook, we disregard and fail to be good stewards. That we pay no attention to the very source of the oxygen we breathe isn't very smart, is it? Scientists estimate that we each need 7-8 healthy trees to create enough oxygen to sustain us. So a family of four uses about 30 trees' worth every year. Assuming you don't have that many in your yard, where are they and who takes care of them?
The photo above, by the way...? It's the iconic Torrey pine, aka Pinus torreyana. This one looks to be close to 100 years old. Someone once said there are two ways of looking at the world: as if nothing is a miracle or as if everything is.
Spathodea campanulata