Ginkgo RIP

August 1, 2023 Rest-in-Peace, gingko tree. You were a mere baby of 140 years over a possible lucky lifespan of 3000 years. To remember you, here are some of the many photos that were taken over the years, especially when you were shedding your golden leaves and making a carpet below. We know that you were witness to many many celebrations - wedding, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and more. We are all so sad today. Thank you for being witness to all of our important events on the Shinn lawn since 1877.

He (yes, this was a male ginkgo) had been leaning more and more. And more bark was coming off one side. The canopy was less on that side. The ground was heaving. Possibly the city had a tree expert out to check his health. We heard tree was not safe and needed to come down. A fence went up around the tree yesterday afternoon. But Ginkgo decided it was time to go down by himself overnight. When the first gardener came in the morning he was resting on the ground. He missed the Sim Cottage, the fence, and the roses. He took some branches of the magnolia with him.

We had the Wadaiko Taiko Newark group out to celebrate Summer Fest 2023. Little did we know that we were in the process of saying goodbye so soon.

The ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) was planted during the time that the Shinns ran their nursery. The catalog for 1878-1879 shows that they sold the ginkgo tree, but at that time it was called Salisburia Adiantum. See wikipedia for an explanation of the name.

Ginkgo biloba is only found in the wild in China. It is cultivated around the world and is a common street tree in the Bay Area. Read an interview with Peter Crane of Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Ginkgos are dioecious, meaning that there are male trees and there are female trees.  Our old gingko tree is a male tree. The female trees have fruit that is useful medicinally, but some consider it stinky. Perhaps it was like chocolate to the dinosaurs who ate the fruits and pooped them out in a nicely fertilized and scarified pile. Because humans don't appreciate the fruit, many people plant the male tree. But it's a joke on them, because the male tree has pollen and people with allergies suffer in a different and more prolonged way.

Listen to tree guys, Nelson Kirk and Bill Merrill, talk about the gingko a couple of years ago. 

Fall is the best. The golden leaves glow beautifully.  Many people take family photos at this time.