Guy Sternberg, arborist extraordinaire
By Sarah Westlund

This year Julie and I celebrated All Hallow’s Eve by attending out first seminar as business associates. The topic covered—Heat, Humidity, Storms, and Drought: Trees for Midwest Summers—was presented by the accomplished arborist Guy Sternberg. Such a topic is particularly pertinent to our region, as it is rare that we escape the year’s passing without some sort of extreme environmental conditions. I had never heard Guy speak before, but I quickly discovered that all the praise he receives is well deserved. He is kind and accessible, and freely shares the knowledge he has gathered over the course of his career. And he is immensely knowledgeable! During his slide show, he presented images of trees that he had photographed, speaking of individual plants as if they were members of his own family.

In addition to being such a wonderful speaker, Guy has many other credits, some of which include landscape architect, tree-consultant, writer, and photographer. He and his wife, Edie, own Starhill Forest Arboretum in Petersburg, Illinois. Their research arboretum houses an extensive tree collection including many rare and endangered species. They maintain the 48-acre spread themselves, and have accomplished a great deal since they first started planting trees, shrubs, and perennials nearly 30 years ago. Guy’s interest in native plant species has led him all over the world as a respected expert on woody plants. He has also authored and co-authored a number of books including Landscaping with Native Trees, and several of the Taylor’s Garden Guides. Most recently, he and co-author Jim Wilson finished work on their new book, Native Trees for North American Landscapes, From the Atlantic to the Rockies. This latest book, due out Spring 2004, is a “comprehensive cross section of native trees,” and undoubtedly will be held as an indispensable reference for landscape designers intent on designing and planting client gardens according to the “right plant, right place” ideology.

Guy hopefully will be returning to our neck of the woods sometime later this year to teach more classes. He has much to offer those willing to listen and learn. I found a wealth of information at his October engagement. Guy found in me a kindred spirit—his tales of planting acorns in his sandbox when he was five years old jogged a memory. I, too, was an aspiring plants woman, at age 6, planting pits in the lawn at my childhood home and hoping for a cherry forest to spring up.

Guy will be teaching several classes at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe in February '04.

They are:
25th Feb. Wednesday 7 - 9 pm "Oaks of All Sizes and Shapes"
26th Feb. Thursday 9 am - 12 pm "Oak Hybrid Cultivar Development" (Professional Program)

To register, call (847) 835-8261