Dr. Seuss Trees

One of the first things I noticed when I moved to San Diego (as I nearly ran off the road noticing them) were the trees that looked like Dr. Seuss trees as illustrated in his books.

It was a few years later that I discovered just why trees here looked like those crazy trees in his books.

1.  He lived in La Jolla, a suburb of San Diego.
2.  San Diego is actually a desert/ chaparral area, not normally suited to trees.
3.  Therefore trees in San Diego need to be watered.
     3A - trees take up water with their roots and expire them through their leaves.
     3B - in order to use less water watering trees, the people in San Diego constantly trim their trees to create less branch and leaf area.
     3C - ERGO -- Dr. Seuss trees.


(for a description of how and why trees were imported into the water-parched San Diego area, I refer you to the book, The Tree Lady, The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever  by H. Joseph Hopkins.) 

Nonfiction Monday - The Tree Lady

Hopkins, H. Joseph.  The Tree Lady; the True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever.  New York: Beach Lane Books, 2013.

                        Picture book biography of Katherine Olivia Sessions who loved working with plants. When she moved from the heavily wooded northern California to the southern Californian San Diego desert, Sessions was determined to discover what kinds of trees would survive there – and she did. 

                        Actually the author repeats those last few words, “and she did,” over and over again in this book with variations. 

                                    “Not everyone knew how to hunt for trees. But Kate did.” 

This repetition gives a rhythm to the writing and a positive spin to Kate’s lifelong project.  

           (As a new San Diegoan, I thank her.)