Trees are art

Phyllis Reynolds’ knowledge of Portland’s trees is legendary. It’s no surprise that she was featured in yesterday’s Oregonian as co-author with Elizabeth Dimon of “Trees of Greater Portland.”

Former chair of Portland’s Heritage Tree Committee, Reynolds has been a supporter of Friends of Trees for more than a decade. For many of those years, she contributed stories about Heritage Trees to Friends of Trees’ newsletters.

Pictured above is one of her articles. All of her stories offered her unique perspective on the trees and their historic connection to Portland.

As The Oregonian reports:

Reynolds likes to emphasize that Portland’s urban trees are intimately connected to the city’s history. “Often, the oldest trees were planted by prominent or pioneering Portlanders.” These tend to be in the city’s oldest neighborhoods — Irvington, Portland Heights, Laurelhurst and Eastmoreland.

“Trees are art,” Reynolds says. “The wind prunes them into elegant shapes. I can’t imagine my life without them.”

–TR