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Welcome to this seasonal issue of “Branching Out” - Our shared home for connecting with the many trees of Cypress Lawn Arboretum!
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Dearest friends, neighbors, and tree-lovers near and far -
Many of the moments I live in the stewardship of Cypress Lawn Arboretum come in solitude, in the quiet peace that may be found walking the grounds of our heritage park. Though the work of tree service and arboriculture is indeed a deeply collaborative process, I do find that my own hours guiding the garden forward are often spent in the silent companionship of just the trees themselves.
Oh, but what sacred company this is to share! Far from loneliness, the community of the wooden ones, the “standing people” as native Californians have known them for generations, breathes an energy of spirit into this place that enlivens a rich camaraderie in my own soul. As they say, it’s great to be alive in Colma, a truth few know better than the living collection of our Arboretum.
This memorial landscape really has a grand population, with countless beloved decedents tributed in stone, and thousands more of the standing, silent souls that I care for. Their company is yours to share as well, and their stories - the human and the sylvan - are here, waiting patiently for you to listen and give your attention.
It is with a humble intention that I invite you to follow along with our growing story, of people and trees in kinship, as we turn the proverbial leaf to the next season, and the next reason, for fostering a loving purpose together.
Your ever-humble Arboretum Director,
Josh Gevertz
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JUST HAPPENED ON July 4, 2023:
In collaboration with the Western Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture, Cypress Lawn Arboretum recently hosted a regional conference for arborists and tree professionals, themed as “From Roots to Crown: Exploring Tree Health Less Than Six Feet Under!” This educational event featured a morning lecture series in our historic Abbey Chapel at Olivet Gardens, as well as a series of immersive afternoon expositions, demonstrating best management practices in nurseries with containerized plants, as well as for mature tree care with a focus on the process of root crown excavations.
HAPPENING ALL SUMMER:
Continued development and construction of our new hub for all tree care and on-site wood reclamation activities, the Cypress Lawn Arboretum Center, is underway. This place will feature an outdoor classroom of reclaimed cypress slab benches, a demonstration garden of drought-tolerant woody plants, a small nursery for cultivating future plantings throughout the Arboretum, custom-fabricated shipping containers for tools and equipment storage, and more…
HAPPENING NEXT MONTH:
Continued seed collection for the growing Arboretum Heritage Project, in collaboration with climbing arborists of Christopher Campbell Tree Design and young tree care professionals of Devil Mountain Wholesale Nursery. Propagation of direct offspring of select veteran trees, for a variety of species in the post-mature collection of the Arboretum, will be an ongoing effort in the years to come, with eventual planting of the next generation of trees for our Memorial Park, as youthful companions to the original mother trees.
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COMING UP IN SEPTEMBER:
The return of CypressFest! This proactive and collaborative tree care program will focus on four fundamental objectives of arboriculture: veteran tree restoration and risk mitigation; young tree training and structural pruning; root crown excavations; and of course, planting of seedlings for the Monterey cypress forest of the future, our namesake California native tree.
COMING UP ON October 6, 2023:
Gala event for the indoor exhibit of “Dancing on the Brink of the World”, in the main lobby and adjacent rooms of the Cypress Lawn main offices at 1370 El Camino Real. This follow-up showcase to the “Living Color” botanical art gallery exhibition will feature photography of Monterey cypress trees both in our living collection here in Colma and from around the world, poetry by Arboretum Director Josh Gevertz, wood samples and natural artifacts from actual tree specimens, and more! Please RSVP here for this special gala, featuring catered refreshments, a live poetry recitation, music, libations and more. This exhibit will stay on display through at least the end of 2023 for your viewing pleasure.
COMING UP ON November 18,2023:
Our fourth annual Arboretum Day! Celebrating the theme of “Family Forest”, this tree planting celebration event will honor old veteran trees of the Magnoliaceae family on our East entry lawn, showcase the ongoing companion tree establishment of the Arboretum Heritage Project, and will also feature live music, food vendors, trolley rides, lawn games and other tree-themed fun for the whole family! Stay tuned for more information.
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SEEDS OF THE FUTURE - GROWING THE NEXT GENERATION OF CYPRESS LAWN ARBORETUM
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The old veteran trees of Cypress Lawn Arboretum are a special part of our living collection, some of them 131 years in age and still branching out today. I know a profound sense of gratitude for this heritage, to Hamden Holmes Noble and the founding stewards of Cypress Lawn.
In my role as one of the modern-day caregivers of the garden, the noble intention of planting and establishing a global diversity of trees over a century ago is a spirited tradition that I am honored to carry forward. The proactive notion of stewardship of this urban forest landscape is leveraged by the growing idea of the Arboretum Heritage Project.
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DANCING ON THE BRINK OF THE WORLD – VOLUME XII – CHAMPION
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I have walked the Earth, traveled near and far, flown a continent away, journeyed by sea and by seed to remote corners of the terrestrial realm in search of her majesty, as humble scribe of the global story of my dear Old Hespero. But only here, in this quiet pocket of Pescadero, astride a lonely country road and miles from any meaningful urban populace or cultural center, here she stands rooted. The giant, the champion of them all, the Cupressacean queen stands silent above me. In her glorious shade I write these words.
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| 650-550-8808 · cypresslawn.com1370 El Camino Real, Colma, CA 94014
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