One acre (4 046.856 square meter) of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people.

Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30 percent and can save 20 - 50 percent in energy used for heating.

A wild Fig tree in South Africa has roots reaching 400 feet deep.

Fastest Growing:  An Albizzia falcata in Malaysia grew at a rate of 2.8 cm (1.1 inch)/day.

Greatest Girth:  In late 18th century Sicily, a Chestnut tree had a circumference of 58 meters (190 feet).

Probably Most Dangerous:  The Manchineel Tree of the Carribbean coast and Florida Everglades secrete a poisonous acid sap. 

A White Cedar in the Great Lakes area of Canada has grown less then 10 cm (4 inches) in height in 155 years. 

In 1872, an Australian Eucalyptus was said to have measured to over 152.4 meters (500 feet) of height during some part of its life. 

The tallest living tree is a Coast Redwood in California known as the “Mendocino Tree” and measures over 111 meters 367 feet.  It is over 1000 years old. 

I hired a carpenter to help me restore an old farmhouse, and after he had just finished a rough first day on the job, a flat tyre made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start.   

While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked towards the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching tips of the branches with his hands. When opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles, and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree, and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job and in my life, but one thing's for sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again.

"Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light. 
In summer quite the other way
I have to go to bed by day.

- Robert Louis Stevenson, “A Child's Garden of Verses”

Latterns and Stainless Steal water feature

“If the first of July it be rainy weather,
Twill rain more or less for four weeks together”

At first the Romans called this month Quintilis, but later renamed it Julius after Julius Caesar.

The Greek Olympian was held for about a week in July. This festival in honor of Zeuz consisted of competitions in athletics, drama, music, and other activities. During the time of the Olympian, all participants were given safe-conduct to and from the games. The constant petty Greek squabbles were put aside.

In Japan, the Full Moon of July saw the O-Bon, or Festival of Lanterns. This was a combination of Buddhist and Shinto beliefs that honored the dead. Homes, tombs, and ancestral tablets were thoroughly cleaned. Altars and shines were decorated. The gardens were hung with lanterns to light the way of the dead so that they could join with their families for the three day ceremony.

In ancient Egypt, New Year fell in July, as did the Opet Festival, which commemorated the marriage of Isis and Osiris.

At about the same time in Rome, the love of Venus and Adonis was celebrated.

Herbs: honeysuckle, agrimony, lemon balm, hyssop
Colors: silver, blue-grey
Flowers: lotus, water lily, jasmine
Scents: orris, frankincense
Stones: pearl, moonstone, white agate, ruby
Trees: oak, acacia, ash
Animals: crab, turtle, dolphin, whale
Birds: starling, ibis, swallow

Answer July—
         Where is the Bee—
             Where is the Blush—
       Where is the Hay?

  Ah, said July—
            Where is the Seed—
          Where is the Bud—
          Where is the May—
             Answer Thee—Me—
  -  Emily Dickinson, “Answer July”

Overview of details

"This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,
May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet."
-   William Shakespeare

August, originally called Sextilis by the Romans, was later named Augustus in honor of Augustus Caesar. Gathered harvests were celebrated in many lands during this month.

August 1 is a Celtic feast called Lunasa or Lughnassadh, meaning the celebration of harvest and new grain for bread.

In Old English this became Lammas, or "Loaf Mass."

At three times during August, the Romans honored the god Vulcan.

The very early Greeks had a holy day for Hecate the Dark Mother on August 13, and ten days later one for Nemesis, the goddess who balanced the scales of justice with rightful revenge and punishment.

In Rome, women who had prayers answered by Diana and Hecate marched by torch light to the temples of these goddesses.

In India today, the Hindu people still honor the elephant-headed god Ganesha, the deity who removes obstacles and brings good luck. Flowers and dishes of rice were set before his statues. However, it is considered unlucky to look at the Moon during this festival.

Herbs: chamomile, St. Johns worth, bay, angelica, fennel, rue, orange
Colors: yellow, gods
Flowers: sunflower, marigold
Scents: frankincense, heliotrop
Stones: cat's eye, carnelian, jasper, fire agate
Trees: hazel, alder, cedar
Animals: lion, phoenix, sphinx, dragon
Birds: crane, falcon, eagle

"Whilst August yet wears her golden crown,
Ripening fields lush- bright with promise;
Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing
Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn."
-  Michelle L. Thieme, “August's Crown “

Latterns and Decking details

Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. 
-Lou Erickson

The best place to seek God is in a garden.  You can dig for him there. 
-George Bernard Shaw, “The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God”, 1932

Take thy plastic spade,
It is thy pencil; take thy seeds, thy plants,
They are thy colors.
-William Mason, “The English Garden”, 1782

Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing: -"Oh, how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade.
-Rudyard Kipling, "The Glory of the Garden"

Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination. 
-Mrs. C.W. Earle, Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897

No two gardens are the same.  No two days are the same in one garden. 
-Hugh Johnson

Blending organic and hard forms