By Laurie Zitterkopf, Nebraska Extension Master Gardener
In our landscapes, trees often get planted as lone individuals surrounded by a sea of lawns. This is less than ideal for trees. Trees typically grow in forests where little grass is present. When trees are placed in lawns, trees can be sitting ducks for such things as mower and trimmer damage as well as herbicide injury. We can have both a nice, highly functional lawn and healthy trees if we do it right. One place to· start is by surrounding trees with companion plantings that create an island of landscape. Fall is a great time to plant trees.