Until recently, we have been telling you that blue ash, Fraxinus quadrangulata, appears to be resistant to emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis. This is important because blue ash is the most abundant ancient tree in our woodland pastures. The emerald ash borer is devastating our white and green ash trees. See our previous story about […]
Those who have read my book or heard my presentations know that one of our major concerns about the future of our rare and ancient woodland pastures is the failure of trees to reproduce. With trees succumbing to age, lightning and poor management, the population of ancient trees is declining. While we are constantly on […]
Today, we are launching a new project “Great Trees of the Bluegrass” to locate and identify important trees in our region. We have a new Facebook Group: Great Trees of the Bluegrass for you to contribute your own observations, and we are also creating a new web-based identification and mapping tool for your use. The purpose of […]
A left-behind tree is our term for woodland pasture trees that are left behind as lone individuals when farmland is urbanized. You can help us find them. Woodland pastures are part of the original presettlement vegetation of the Bluegrass. As some areas, especially in Fayette County, were urbanized, most of the trees of the woodland pastures were […]
Dead trees are fascinating because they provide us with a permanent record of their lives. The annual rings that record the tree’s experience with drought, nutrients and temperature are familiar to most of us. Somewhat less familiar, but easy to see, is the record of all the insults, accidents and stresses of life as a giant, […]
Runnymede Farm in Bourbon County is the oldest continuously-operated thoroughbred farm in Kentucky. Founded in 1867 by Colonel Ezekiel Clay, it is today operated by his grandson, Catesby W. Clay, and great-grandson Brutus J. Clay III. As you might expect for such a long-running family farm, the Clay family has taken great care of their […]
While Big Blue Nation awaits another exciting college basketball season, another Kentucky icon quietly stands in relative obscurity – the ancient, big blue ash trees of Castlewood Park and other Lexington urban parks. Successfully avoiding the encroaching development that has threatened ancient blue ash trees in other areas of the Bluegrass, these centuries-old trees inspire […]
The goal of Venerable Trees, Inc is to conserve woodland pastures in rural areas and to preserve ancient trees in urban developments whenever possible. We recognize that it is not always possible to preserve every ancient tree in a development. However, there should be a public discussion before any tree is removed. The bur oak […]