Entries by Christopher Altman

Giant Bonsai

January 26, 2015 in /by

The Ocean Park Motel is a classic San Francisco establishment that has been in the same family for generations.  It is a beautiful Art Deco structure on the corner of Wawona and 46th Ave in the Sunset District, just a couple of blocks from the San Francisco Zoo.  The owners have always taken extra special […]

Day One Baby

March 28, 2014 in /by

Day One Baby hired us to trim the trees outside their new store front on Sacramento Street. The trees pictured on the right are how they looked before. And here is how they look now. They also hired us to spruce up the tree wells. We used succulents of various textures and sizes.

Tree of the Week

February 9, 2014 in /by

Agonis fluxuosa Peppermint Willow Seen below there is a typical example of an Agonis fluxuosa. They are a drought tolerant tree from Australia in the Myrtle family (Eucalyptus family). This particular tree is at 16 Seal Rock Drive, all the way out in the outer Richmond District in San Francisco. It is a ten minute […]

Japanese Maples

July 16, 2013 in /by

This tree we pruned was in a appropriate space, but it had been pruned too hard by a hacker. I could tell right away because it was all thick and bushy on top. It needed a good restoration. Natural layers open the canopy so that it isn’t so dense. Before After

Juniper Bonsai Art

September 26, 2012 in /by

This Juniper started out as a bonsai specimen that the homeowner tended frequently. Somehow it got left to the wayside for a number of years and became a hedge. Our job was to restore it to a bonsai. We can do this with just about any size tree or shrub. It just takes a little […]

Transplanting a small tree

May 3, 2012 in /by

My client had planted this Fig tree too close to her foundation. It’s not a problem right now, but it will be some day. So it is best to take care of these things now while the tree can still be salvaged. I dug a semi-circular trench about 18 inches from the trunk of the […]

Misplaced Tree of the Week

April 14, 2012 in /by

The tree above is a Loquat, or Eriobotrya japonica. It’s not a common street tree in San Francisco, but closely related to the Bronze Loquat which is a common street tree. Both are evergreen, slow to moderate growers. When the above tree was planted the person who planted it never considered the problems that would […]