STI Portfolio

Shortly after installation - 18 ft tall

5 Years

5 years after installation - 35 ft tall Cox Communications- Atlanta, GA

“I believe Select Trees is doing all they can to make legacies last.

The rest is up to us.�

- Kevin Parris, Landscape Architect 225 William Pope Road Crawford, Ga 30630 - www.selecttrees.com - (800) 486 - 7353

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

What are SustainablePlus Trees? “Making cities livable by installing trees that will last will contribute to regional and global sustainability.� - Henry Arnold, FASLA

50+years

With the expectation that trees are the only part of the infrastructure of our communities that appreciate in value - our concept of Sustainability holds trees to a higher standard. Think of it as

SustainablePlus.

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

You don’t have to wait 50 years to benefit from Select SustainablePlus Trees

45 days

“Simply put, the Select Trees owner purchase program provides the highest quality end result for the lowest price to the owner. This creates real value that is measurable.”

- Landscape Architect, Atlanta, GA

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SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

SustainablePlus

“Making cities livable by installing trees that will last will contribute to regional and global sustainability.” - Henry Arnold, FASLA

“Trees are the only part of infrastructure that actually appreciates in value while the rest depreciates.” - Provenzano With the expectation that trees are the only part of the infrastructure of our communities that appreciate in value - our concept of Sustainability holds trees to a higher standard. Think of it as SustainablePlus.

SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

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SustainablePlus Trees

“There is an exceptional opportunity to make unimagined changes to cities, conferring benefits that multiply with time. Trees can have a major role in recreating cities that are biologically fit for human enjoyment.� - Henry Arnold, FASLA

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

SustainablePlus Trees Environmental Return on Investment Over the course of 50 YEARS, a single large shade tree can generate over $160,000 in environmental benefits. - Arbor Day Foundation

$31,250 $62,000 $37,500 $31,500

$162,250

worth of generated oxygen worth of air pollution control worth of recycled water worth of soil erosion control

TOTAL ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

Years: Benefits per Year:

*20x20x20 *10x10x10

1-10 $70

11-20 $310

*40x40x40+

*30x30x30

*20x20x20

Approximate Progression of Environmental Benefits ($162,250) Over 50 Years for a Single Large Shade Tree

*10x10x10

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*40x40x40

*30x30x30

21-30 $1,610

31-40

$4,490

41+ $9,745

Benefits do not include energy savings and increased property values. *Approximate Canopy Dimensions

“Trees are the only part of infrastructure that actually appreciates in value while the rest depreciates.� - Provenzano

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

SustainablePlus Trees

Cameron Village - Raleigh, NC

Over the course of 50 years, a single large shade tree can generate over $160,000 in environmental benefits.

- Arbor Day Foundation

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Appreciating Benefits from Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees • Shade to reduce energy costs

- Shaded streets - Shaded sidewalks - Shaded outdoor living areas

- Shaded parking areas • Increased property values • Improved quality of life • Healthier air to breathe • Improved water quality • Reduced storm water runoff • Reduced soil erosion • Reduced crime rates • Improved health and recovery The following links have additional information about the value of SustainablePlus trees: • Arbor Day Foundation - http://www.arborday.org/join/tictim/ • Trees Atlanta - http://treesatlanta.org/BenefitsofTrees.aspx • American Forests - http://www.americanforests.org • Pepper Provenzano - http://www.trelink.org/linx/?navsubCatRef=56 • The Large Tree Argument - http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/cufr/ products/cufr_511_Large_Tree_Argument.pdf • Henry Arnold – http://arnoldassociatesllc.com/

“It is difficult to realize how great a part of all that is cheerful and delightful in the recollections of our own life is associated with trees.” - Wilson Flagg

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

SustainablePlus Trees Biggest, oldest, healthiest trees

Centennial Park - Atlanta, GA

He who plants a tree loves others besides himself.� - English proverb

Woodruff Park - Atlanta, GA

Trees properly placed to cool urban heat-islands can lower the temperatures as much as 5 degrees F. - American Forests

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Dallas Cowboys Stadium - Arlington, TX Allee® Lacebark Elms from Select Trees “This is why we came to Select Trees.”

- Landscape Architect - Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Unique not just for the scale of the project and luxuries inside the stadium, the Dallas Cowboys are also developing a one-of-a-kind experience for fans outside the stadium. Two large plazas on either end of the stadium are designed to attract tens of thousands of fans to enjoy the game from these areas. In addition to large screens and concessions, big healthy shade trees will help to create a very memorable experience --- For many of these special trees, the Cowboys came all the way to Select Trees to get the best trees available.

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Dallas Cowboys Stadium - Arlington, TX Allee® Lacebark Elms from Select Trees

8 months

“I’ve never had a single complaint with Select Trees’ product or service. They grow the highest-quality trees and I could go on and on about their superior quality.” - Developer, Dallas, TX

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SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

You don’t have to wait 50 years to benefit from Select SustainablePlus Trees!

Shortly after installation - 18 ft tall

1 year

1 year after installation - 20 ft tall Cox Communications - Atlanta, GA

SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

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You don’t have to wait 50 years to benefit from Select SustainablePlus Trees!

5 years 5 years after installation - 35 ft tall Cox Communications - Atlanta, GA

“Select has the best guarantee you could possibly get, because these trees are selected for their vigor in tough urban conditions. They are top-pruned and root pruned to create dense heads and to create dense root systems, so that when these trees are transplanted, you are guaranteed that they will survive and create a dense, thick urban forest. This is what I get from Select Trees: The finest clonal oaks, and the finest clonal trees that there are on the market.”

- Landscape Architect, Atlanta, GA

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SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

Which trees will have the most impact on quality of life?

Select Trees

NOT from Select Trees

“We have gone cheaper than Select Trees, and the result was a disaster.�

- Developer, Eastern US

SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

Which trees will be SustainablePlus?

Select Trees

NOT from Select Trees

“A large tree in the city is ten to twenty times more beneficial to the environment than a rural forest tree.� - Henry Arnold, FASLA

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Which trees will provide the most environmental benefit?

NOT from SelectTrees

Typical Low-bid Process seedling willow oaks

Select Trees

Select Trees Direct Purchase Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

“When I purchase Select Trees I know I will be 100% satisfied with the end result. We are pleased with their commitment to being the best; they make our properties shine.�

- Developer, Houston, TX

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

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Low-bid Trees are Often Not SustainablePlus Typical Low-bid tree plantings often do not have the potential for long-term environmental benefits or improved quality of life because poor quality leads to poor tree health.

NOT from Select Trees

Select Trees

“Our culture attitudes and their influence on the way we plant trees help to explain why there are millions of trees planted every year in our cities that will not survive to a beneficial age -- that is, they will not grow to be large shade trees. It is not only a result of improper species selection and planting methods, but also a failure to ask questions about our objectives. Are we most concerned with quantity as opposed to size or longevity?� - Henry Arnold, FASLA

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Low-bid trees may look the same at an early age, but over time are usually not SustainablePlus Typical Low-bid Process

Seedling Willow Oaks NOT from Select Trees

Trees in Nursery

Select Trees Direct Purchase

Select SustainablePlus Hightower速 Willow Oaks

Trees in Nursery

Many trees appear of equal quality in the nursery; making price the determining factor

2 Years After Install

2 Years After Install

Differences in tree performance emerge in the landscape

5 Years After Install Typical Low-bid Shade Trees Lack Long-term Environmental Benefits & Do Little to Improve Quality of Life

5 Years After Install SustainablePlus, Long-term Environmental Benefits & Improved Quality of Life

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Low-bid trees are Often Not SustainablePlus 5 Years After Installation

NOT from SelectTrees

Typical Low-bid process NOT from Select Trees 5 Years After Installation

Select Trees

Select SustainablePlus Hightower Willow Oak Select Trees Direct Purchase The typical low-bid process is the critical point where projects get derailed as contractors push cheap as a priority (at the cost of quality). This traditional process leads to artificially low budget numbers that produce results that are far below the expectations of owners and architects. The current state of the economy makes these games even more aggresive and unscrupulous.

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Low-bid trees are Often Not SustainablePlus

NOT from Select Trees

Typical Low-bid process NOT from Select Trees

Select Trees

Select SustainablePlus Hightower Willow Oak Select Trees Direct Purchase “For more than 15 years we have never had a problem with trees from Select” - Landscape Architect, Oklahoma City, OK

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

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Value of SustainablePlus Trees

Woodruff Park - Downtown Atlanta

Approximately 90% of trees in Woodruff Park and surrounding streets were planted in the past 15 years. Approximately 70% of these trees were provided by Select Trees and were not purchased thru typical low-bid process used for most public and private projects.

“Select Trees Owner Purchase allows us to buy the Mercedes at Chevrolet pricing. It wouldn’t make sense for us to purchase trees any other way” Developer, Southeast U.S.

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SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

Select SustainablePlus Hightower® Willow Oaks

2007 - 5.5” trunk diameter 3 years

2010 - 7” trunk diameter 1011 K Street - Washington, DC

SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

Select SustainablePlus Hightower® Willow Oaks

2007 - 5” trunk diameter 3 years

2010 - 6” trunk diameter DC Convention Center - Washington, DC

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SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

Select SustainablePlus Panache® Shumard Oaks

2006 - 4.5” trunk diameter 6 years

2012 - 9.5” trunk diameter Spring Street - Atlanta, GA

“We have a great relationship with Select Trees. After enjoying a visit to your farm, I left with greater knowledge of trees and a desire to specify clonal oaks on our projects. Thanks for such trees!” - Landscape Architect, Atlanta, GA

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Select SustainablePlus Sangria™ Nuttall Oaks

October 2010 - 4.5” trunk diameter 1.5 years

May 2012 - 5.5” trunk diameter Arkansas Tech - West Q St. - Russellville, AR

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SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

Select SustainablePlus Highbeam® Overcup Oaks

6 months

Peachtree Piazza - Atlanta, GA

“Considering the economics, wouldn’t it be more effective to trade fewer trees that grow large for a larger quantity of trees that last less than ten years?” - Henry Arnold, FASLA

SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

Select SustainablePlus Hightower® Willow Oaks

2002 - 4.5” trunk diameter 9 years

2011 - 12” trunk diameter Turner Broadcasting - Atlanta, GA

“I am a landscape architect with 37 years of practice and I can say unequivocally that during my entire practice I have not met or dealt with a more professional nursery than Select Trees.” - Landscape Architect, Atlanta, GA

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Select SustainablePlus Highbeam® Overcup Oaks

2007 - 5” trunk diameter Fayetteville Street - Raleigh, NC

“Increasing tree cover by adding three trees per building could reduce total energy use for heating and cooling by 5 to 10 percent.” - Nowak

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

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Select SustainablePlus Highbeam® Overcup Oaks

3 Years 2010 - 7.5-8” trunk diameter Fayetteville Street - Raleigh, NC

“To walk rows of Highbeam® Overcup Oaks, all uniformly brimming with superior characteristics, is to appreciate this milestone in propagation - truenessto-type from top to bottom . . .an oak for the ages - Dr. Michael Dirr

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SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

Select SustainablePlus Hightower® Willow Oaks

2004 - 4” trunk diameter 6 years

2010 - 8-9” trunk diameter 21st Century Waterfront Park - Chattanooga, TN

“A healthy, growing tree is essentially a pollution-eating device and a mini air conditioner.” - Gene Hyde

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

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Select SustainablePlus Highbeam® Overcup Oaks

2007 - 4.5” trunk diameter 3 years

2010 - 7.5-8.5” trunk diameter The University of Tulsa - Dietler Commons - Tulsa, OK

“Select Trees’ patience, persistence, and propagation savvy open the landscape portal to the world of cultivar oaks. Oaks on their own roots with genetically programmed uniform characteristics including growth habit, summer and fall leaf colors, clean leaf drop in autumn, ease of transplanting, and pest resistance guarantee success in commercial and residential landscapes.” - Dr. Michael Dirr

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Allee® Lacebark Elms from Select Trees

2002

9 years

2011 Lincoln Boulevard - Oklahoma City, OK

“The Allee Elms look great! Thanks for the photos as well as all your assistance throughout this process. As we continue to experience from job to job, Select Trees material adds huge impact and value to property.” -Developer, Houston, TX

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

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Select SustainablePlus Hightower® Willow Oaks

2006 - 4” trunk diameter 3 years

2009 - 7” trunk diameter Legislative Plaza - Nashville, TN

“Heat islands,” created by tree loss, also exponentially increase air pollutants. When pollutant chemicals are superheated by high air temperatures, they become more volatile and interact with each other to create ground level ozone which would not happen at lower temperatures.

- Trees Atlanta

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

How often are design intentions realized at installation?

Do your visions come true?

SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

Where do things go wrong?

“Trees are not looked upon with the same seriousness as utilities, streets, and building heights.” - Henry Arnold, FASLA

“If I had no problems, I could only suppose that I was not considered fit to solve them.” - Anonymous

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Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

What can be done to solve this problem?

Answer: Choosing the Right Tree for the Right Place

Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Trees Superior Genetics

Extreme Nursery Culture

Proper Handling, & Planting

Proper Tree Care

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Trees Choosing the Right Tree for the Right Place

Superior Genetics

Extreme Nursery Culture

Proper Handling, & Planting

Proper Tree Care

“They contract grow trees for many developers and also provide specimen trees. I visited Select Trees awhile back and it mirrors our overall impression of their company - very well organized and well run.�

- Developer - Houston, TX

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Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Choosing the Right Tree for the Right Place Oak optimizes biomass opportunity and provides shade.

Oak Optimizing Biomass Opportunity

Crepe Myrtle Not Optimizing Biomass Opportunity

Optimizing biomass opportunity indicates that the tree will grow large enough to optimize available root and canopy space in order to provide maximum shade, environmental benefits, and return on investment in quality of life and property value. Select Trees can help you select the appropriate tree to plant in the desired location that will be long-lived and will optimize biomass opportunity.

Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

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Choosing the Right Tree for the Right Place Crepe Myrtles do not provide optimum shade in the parking lot.

Crepe Myrtle Not Optimizing Biomass Opportunity

“Small-stature trees like crape myrtle deliver far fewer benefits. in fact, research at the Center for Urban Forest Research shows that their benefits are up to eight times less.� - Southern Center for Urban Forestry Research

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Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Choosing the Right Tree for the Right Place Oak optimizes biomass opportunity and provides shade while the maple is declining.

Oak Optimizing Biomass Opportunity Maple Not Optimizing Biomass Opportunity

“The best principle to follow on urban sites such as city streets is to plant desirable tree types that are growing in and have survived similar conditions for many years.�

- Henry Arnold, FASLA

Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Superior Genetics Stonecrest Mall - Atlanta, GA seedling willow oak NOT from Select Trees

Cox Communications - Atlanta, GA Hightower® Willow Oak Select Trees

Why are own-root clones more dependable and predictable?

“Since seed genetics vary widely, every tree will vary. This can lead to different growth rates, branch structure, time of leaf-out, and fall color. Trees that look matched in the nursery might not look matched a few years after planting.” - Jim Urban, Up By Roots

Select Trees chooses, evaluates, and grows trees that possess genetic qualities that will allow them to thrive in tough urban growing conditions.

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Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Superior Genetics Own-root Clones are PREDICTABLE

May 1999 - Stem cutting from sustainable tree

May 1999 - Root system begins in greenhouse

3 Years

September 1999 - Own-root clonal stem cutting

6 Years

1” trunk diameter

4” trunk diameter

9” trunk diameter

May 2001 - Predictable trees from own-root clones

May 2004 - Predictable own-root clonal trees in the landscape

May 2010 - Select Sustainable Trees are predictable and dependable

“Tree Introductions’ patience, persistence, and propagation savvy open the landscape portal to the world of cultivar oaks. Oaks on their own roots with genetically programmed uniform characteristics including growth habit, summer and fall leaf colors, clean leaf drop in autumn, ease-of-transplanting, and pest resistance guarantee success in commercial and residential landscapes.”

- Dr. Michael Dirr

Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Grafted Trees Do Not Perform Consistently All named varieties of Zelkova are usually grafted.

Inconsistent Roots = Inconsistent Performance

All named varieties of Ginkgo are usually grafted.

Grafted Ginkgo do not consistently maximize biomass opportunities.

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Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Commonly Grafted Trees Grafted trees are less predicatble than own-root clones. Grafted trees, grown inconsistently because of seedling root systems, may lead to graft incompatibility which may lead to tree failure.

TREE

COMMONLY GRAFTED CULTIVARS

Japanese Zelkova

Green Vase, Village Green

Ginkgo

Princeton Sentry®, Shangri-La®, Autumn Gold

White Ash / Green Ash

Urbanite®, Summit, Patmore, Autumn Purple®, Georgia Gem

London Planetree

Bloodgood, Yarwood, Columbia

Honeylocust

Shademaster, Moraine, Skyline, Sunburst

Sugar Maple

Legacy, Green Mountain®, Steeple™

Linden

Greenspire, Redmond, Legend®, Chancellor

English Oak

Rosehill™, Regal Prince™, Skyrocket™

European Hornbeam

Fastigiata, Franz Fontaine

American Sweetgum

Rotundiloba, Slender Silhouette

Tulip Poplar / Tulip Tree

Arnold, Ardis

Bald Cypress

Shawnee Brave™

Blackgum, Tupelo

Wildfire, Forum

Buyer Beware - “When purchasing a budded or grafted cultivar, only the part of the tree above ground is a genetically controlled product. The roots of the tree may be from a different species. Become familiar enough with the plants to be able to identify them and to know the ramifications of mistakes the nursery could make.”

- Jim Urban, FASLA, Up By Roots

Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

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Extreme Nursery Culture

Root Enhancement

Rooting genetically superior trees

Hand planting for proper root orientation

Root pruning to create dense, fibrous, root systems

“You have educated me on the value of root enhancement. I recently rejected many trees from a well known competing nursery due to girdling roots. Select Trees is the only nursery I can allow to tag trees for me and I know they will be what I expect.�

- Landscape Architect - Atlanta, GA

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Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Extreme Nursery Culture Which root system is better?

NOT from Select Trees

circling & girdling roots from containers

Select Trees

enhanced root system from Select Trees

NOT from Select Trees

coarse, unbranched roots lack density without root pruning

Select Trees

enhanced root system from Select Trees

“Thank you for continuing to educate me and our firm about sustainable trees. At Select Trees, education and marketing are the same thing.� - Landscape Architect, Atlanta, GA

Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Extreme Nursery Culture: Root Pruning

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Select Trees growing practices make a significant difference even when trees from other nurseries are genetically identical.

Without Root Pruning

Hightower® Willow Oak - 3” Trunk Diameter

Root pruning initially slows down top growth, but the smaller root pruned tree below will outgrow the larger non-root pruned tree above within 2 years.

With Root Pruning

Hightower® Willow Oak - 2.5” Trunk Diameter

“Select has the best guarantee you could possibly get, because these trees are selected for their vigor in tough urban conditions. They are top-pruned and root-pruned to create dense heads and to create dense root systems, so that when these trees are transplanted, you are guaranteed that they will survive and create a dense, thick, urban forest.”

- Landscape Architect - Atlanta, GA

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Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Extreme Nursery Culture: Pruning for Good Structure Trees that have a central leader developed in the nursery will be more structurally sound

Select Trees

Allee® Lacebark Elm FROM Select Trees

NOT from Select Trees

Allee® Lacebark Elm

NOT From Select Trees

“In rejecting trees from another nursery I learned the difference again in Select Trees growing techniques. I learned that you can’t just specify trees with improved genetics like with Allee® Lacebark Elm and get trees that will work. I learned the Select Trees difference is in the quality of the tree produced. It is a mistake I will never make again as I will specify trees that are reserved at SelectTrees.”

- Landscape Architect - Atlanta, GA

Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Extreme Nursery Culture Training a central leader

“When specifying Select Trees as the source, we are completely confident that only the highest quality, most uniform trees will be received on the project site.

We find no need to tag trees prior to digging since quality is of such a consistently high level.� - Landscape Architect - Tulsa, OK

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Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Extreme Nursery Culture: Broader Root Ball

Harvesting with an Optimal Spade captures more of the root system and facilitates proper handling and planting.

Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

SustainablePlus Tree Consultation

Stop the finger-pointing!

The Solution to Finger-Pointing:

SustainablePlus Tree Consultation facilitates proactive communication among project team members •Owners & Developers •Landscape Contractors •Architects & Engineers •General Contractors

•Maintenance & Tree Care Contractors

Consultation from design phase through long-term tree care for Select SustainablePlus Trees “The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell.” - Confucius

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Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Shade Trees

SustainablePlus Tree Consultation I. During design phase

II. Prior to construction

III. During & after installation

IV. Long-term maintenance

SustainablePlus Tree Consultation has a positive effect on all decisions related to tree health. Through our tree consultations, Select Trees will ensure that trees are properly taken care of throughout transplanting and establishment. We also provide recommendations for long-term tree health and care.

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

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What Distinguishes Select Trees Group From the Competition?

• We are passionate about long-lived healthy trees. We aim to provide excellence first, and profit will follow.

• WE DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, and that has many benefits: o Legacy for our children and their children—mature healthy shade trees o Increased quality of life for millions of people in the urban environment o Less expensive maintenance, and less risk that you will have to replace trees within a few years o Many positive environmental benefits like air quality that are not attained at the same level

with small trees, or with trees that only live 7-10 years.

• We have developed trees that will thrive in the toughest urban environments.

• With the help of many good advisors and customers, over the past 25 years we have developed a five step common sense RECIPE FOR LONG-LIVED SUSTAINABLE TREES.

Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Trees Choosing the Right Tree for the Right Place

Superior Genetics

Extreme Nursery Culture

Proper Handling, & Planting

Proper Tree Care

• This recipe is similar to the recipe for a good cake and reminds us of the following: o “Have you ever eaten a spoonful of lard? What about a cup of sifted flour or a cup of sugar?

Or maybe a couple of raw eggs? Probably not, but everybody has enjoyed a delicious cake– the result of mixing those ingredients together in the right proportion and baking them.”

- Truett Cathy, Founder, Chick-Fil-A • WE DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. • When project owners purchase trees directly, we guarantee our trees for 5 years. Most competitors will not even guarantee trees for one year.

• We are most motivated by the opportunity to leave a legacy of long lived healthy sustainable shade trees.

• We don’t work on commission, but are motivated by long term relationships, repeat business, and long term value and profit.

• All our staff are important partners in STG. We are investing sweat equity in future ownership and/or profit based incentives.

• We have been blessed with incredibly valuable advisors and mentors.

Select Trees Group Goals I. II. III. IV. V.

To create a legacy of sustainable trees that will have significant positive effects on the environment.

To do such an outstanding job of selecting, growing , and servicing that our trees will be preferred to all others.

To create and maintain a growth environment that gives each partner the opportunity to develop their potential and do their best work.

To develop alert, progressive, leadership in all areas.

To dedicate ourselves to continuous growth and to building a business dedicated to ‘EXCELLENCE IN ALL THINGS.’

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Tree Introductions Research and Development to Select, Evaluate, and Distribute SustainablePlus Trees for the urban environment

“Tree Introductions’ patience, persistence, and propagation savvy open the landscape portal to the world of cultivar oaks. Oaks on their own roots with genetically programmed uniform characteristics including growth habit, summer and fall leaf colors, clean leaf drop in autumn, ease-of-transplanting, and pest resistance guarantee success in commercial and residential landscapes.”

- Dr. Michael Dirr

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

55

Tree Introductions Compacted urban soils lack oxygen and are often poorly drained.

SustainablePlus trees can thrive in these conditions.

Similar Tough Conditions

Select SustainablePlus Highbeam® Overcup Oaks

• Experimental planting at Select Trees in poorly drained soil

• Typical urban soil does not drain and is compacted

“Highbeam® is easy to transplant and withstands extremes of soil from wet to dry once established. . . An oak for the ages.” - Dr. Michael Dirr

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Tree Introductions

Dr. Michael Dirr: • Distinguished UGA professor and researcher • World renowned Champion of Tree Selection and Evaluation • Inspirational Mentor and Cooperator for shaping Tree Introductions as an industry leader

“Some people want it to happen, some people wish it would happen, others make it happen.” - Michael Jordan

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

P.O. Box 4386 Spartanburg, S.C. 29305 (864) 592-4271 parrisk@sccsc.edu

As someone with a background in nursery production, landscape design, landscape installation, and management of plant collections, I view sustainability of trees as my top consideration when choosing a tree specimen for a landscape setting. As an instructor of horticulture I like to have properly grown and maintained specimens in our collections to present students with high standards to uphold, whether they pursue careers in production, marketing, or management of plant material. I also wholeheartedly believe that every institutional campus from elementary schools to colleges, churches and hospitals should have grounds that are looked upon as arboreta.

Select Trees has been a source of high quality nursery stock for me over the past decade as I have had opportunities to create arboreta on school grounds and within neighborhoods in Upstate South Carolina. The emphasis they place on the production of a healthy root system is unparalleled in the industry. Their inventory has always performed and their service has always been superlative. Their production methods truly generate trees that are more reliably sustainable than the industry standard.

The research and development end of their business has revolutionized the industry by providing us with clonal oaks. Availability of named oak cultivars that lend uniform and reliable growth characteristics to the landscape is something that seemed out of reach 20 years ago, now it is reality largely due to the efforts of Select Trees. We are pleased to have many of these selections in our campus arboretum at Spartanburg Community College.

The most important thing any of us can do is leave a legacy that sustains and inspires the next generation to do the same for the generation that is to follow. Planting a seed is simple. Growing a tree is not profoundly difficult. Preserving a tree is integral to our nature. Yet our failures at each of these steps prevent many trees in modern landscapes from becoming a lasting legacy. I believe Select Trees is doing all they can to make legacies last. The rest is up to us.

Sincerely,

Kevin Parris Horticulture Instructor and Arboretum Coordinator Spartanburg Community College 07/28/09

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

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Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

l & Vancuren, Inc. cape Architecture Planning anning

601 South Lewis Avenue Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104-3327 918 592-1270 Fax 918 592-1420 www.howellvancuren.com

July 24, 2009

Re: Letter of Reference for Select Trees To whom it may concern: My firm, Howell & Vancuren, Inc., has had an ongoing and successful relationship with Select Trees for over seven years and have had more than 600 trees installed on our projects.

When specifying Select Trees as the source, we are completely confident that only the highest quality, most uniform trees will be received on the project site. We find no need to tag trees prior to digging since the quality is of such a consistently high level.

Root pruning and vegetative propagation are two practices that set Select Trees apart from most other tree nurseries. Because of these intensive cultural practices, the survival rate of their trees has been excellent.

The on-site follow-up that Select Trees has provided for our projects has been very beneficial to identify maintenance or cultural problems that might adversely affect the health of a tree.

This represents a commitment on their part to “go the extra mile” to insure the success and longevity of tree planting projects in which they are involved.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding my experience with Select Trees and their excellent plants.

Sincerely,

Joe L. Howell, ASLA Howell & Vancuren, Inc.

601 South Lewis Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104-3327 918 592-1270 Fax 918 592-1420 918

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GOODHART’S GARDENS 640 Willow Valley Square, I-403 Lancaster, PA 17602 Tel. (757) 969-3535 goodhartsgardens@gmail.com

July 23, 2009

Reference: Letter of Reference Select Trees, Inc. P.O. Box 6671 Athens, GA30604 To Whom It May Concern:

I am most happy to be able to provide my highest recommendation for Select Trees, Inc., the quality of service that this magnificent organization provides, and the quality of trees that they grow and offer to the public. As Landscape Advisor to Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, and proprietor of my own business, I have purchased specimen trees from Select Trees since the year 2000. Of the several hundred trees that I have purchased, all have survived and thrived. These trees have drawn rave reviews from clients and the public alike. The Christopher Newport University campus is recognized as one of Virginia’s most beautifully landscaped new campuses. This is due in large measure to the gorgeous trees that Select Trees has provided and which predominate on the campus.

The outstanding quality of Select Tree’s plant material is matched by the service and expertise that their superb, professional staff provides. Select Tree’s horticultural personnel have come to Virginia to provide invaluable advice to me on several occasions both for the University and my private clients.

They have recommended the best trees for the existing conditions, made recommendations on care, and personally helped me select trees at their nursery in Georgia. The large number of superior hybrid trees that they provide is exceptional. I firmly believe that their growing methods cannot be surpassed by any other grower in the United States. I have found no other that I feel can match their quality. When my clients request top quality trees, my first recommendation always is what Select Trees offers.

Sincerely, (Sent by e-mail.

Signed copy available.)

R. Robert Goodhart Proprietor

Goodhart’s Gardens

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SustainablePlus Shade Trees Improve Quality of Life in the Urban Environment

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Excerpts from The Environmental Psychology of Shopping

Assessing the Value of Trees

Kathleen L. Wolf

Consumers claim that they are willing to pay 9% more in small cities and 12% more in large cities for equivalent goods and services in business districts having an urban forest.

Better Design with Trees Signs and Forest Co-design

An oft-repeated concern in merchant interviews was the tension between placement of trees and the visibility of signs, awnings and storefronts. Many of these visual conflicts can be avoided by the co-design of signage and vegetation. Compare sign height and mature tree height. Select and plant taller trees that will grow above signage. Routine pruning can be used to thin branches and lift canopy, enabling better views and more light to filter to the ground. Color and materials choices for signs should contrast with the foliage, drawing the eye to visual accents.

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Excerpts from The Environmental Psychology of Shopping Assessing the Value of Trees

Kathleen L. Wolf City trees provide environmental benefits, the usual justification for urban forestry investment, and are an important concern as the public gains greater interest in urban sustainability. These studies demonstrate that trees serve other functions, particularly for retail and commercial interests. Trees and landscapes can be significant elements in place marketing. Economists have noted that shopping was once a utilitarian activity to fulfill needs and wants, but today’s shoppers are pursuing places that offer social, memorable experiences. Trees help create place and connect to deeply felt preferences and appreciations that people have for nature. The urban forest is an important part of the vibrant, satisfying places that shoppers enjoy.

Dr. Kathleen L. Wolf is a research social scientist at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Her work focuses on the human dimensions of urban forests and ecosystems, using theory and methods of environmental psychology. Additional information about urban greening research is at: www.cfr.washington.edu/research.envmind/

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Excerpts from Sustainable Trees for Sustainable Cities Henry Arnold, FASLA Large shade trees make an enormous contribution to sustainable cities, but all too many of the trees planted every year will not survive long enough to attain effective size. Many factors are involved, but certainly an important one is the relationship between longevity and planting methods.

The idea of sustainable cities is linked to an older concept of sustainable plant communities. The theoretical basis for both is a closed system where everything is continuously recycled. Natural resources are renewed rather than depleted. In undisturbed natural areas a kind of sustainability is achieved through the natural cycles of the biosphere. However, this kind of sustainability for trees in the city cannot be achieved because the natural cycles have been interrupted there. Continuity of urban trees depends on human intervention.

A large tree in the city is ten to twenty times more beneficial to the environment than a rural forest tree.

Trees have enormous appeal not only aesthetically but also for their air-conditioning value; they are beautiful utilities. A large tree in the city is ten to twenty times more beneficial to the environment than a rural forest tree (Akbari 1992). This is a result of the combined effects of trees on air conditioning and atmospheric carbon reduction in the urban “heat islands.” They not only cool the city but they save energy used to air condition buildings. Hence they reduce atmospheric carbon produced by burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. The enhanced benefit of urban trees depends on this multiple effect when planted in urban spaces, as “infrastructure.”

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Excerpts from Sustainable Trees for Sustainable Cities Henry Arnold, FASLA

An obstacle to effectively planting American cities is the continuation of three widespread cultural biases inherited from the nineteenth century.

The first is the popular belief that greater diversity of tree species creates a more durable and healthy forest. Diversity of plant species does not produce stable plant communities (Wilson 1989).

Many urban sites will not support tree species diversity because of the biological limitations of the space. For example, poor air quality, disturbed water cycle, chemical pollutants, and soil restricitons prohibit all but a very few adaptable tree types to grow in these disturbed locations. Well-meaning but ill-informed efforts to create variety by planting many tree types on a single block or street are counterproductive.

The best principle to follow on urban sites such as city streets is to plant desirable tree types that are growing in and have survived similar conditions for many years.

The second bias concerns deployment of trees in the city. There is a predisposition for the open-grown tree form with broad, low spreading crown. Trees are placed far apart to develop individual symmetrical crowns, decreasing their effectiveness as urban forests.

Alternatively, consider trees as infrastructure, that is, as a whole system. In this resommended approach, trees are used as groves, arcades, connectors, buffers, canopies, and colonnades. The use of trees as infrastructure maximizes their architectural values.

The third bias is a preference for the use of suburban planting techniques in urban areas regardless of the specific site conditions. These unnatural sites require planting methods that are very different from those used on suburban sites.

Trees are not looked upon with the same seriousness as utilities, streets, and building heights.

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Excerpts from Sustainable Trees for Sustainable Cities Henry Arnold, FASLA

Our cultural attitudes and their influence on the way we plant trees help to explain why there are millions of trees planted every year in our cities that will not survive to a beneficial age--that is, they will not grow to be large shade trees. It is not only a result of improper species selection and planting methods, but also a failure to ask quesitons about our objectives. Are we most concerned with quantity as opposed to size or longevity? One tree that lasts fifty years is worth more than twenty trees that last only ten years. The benefit of an urban tree is directly proportional to its crown size or volume. Therefore, average crown volume multiplied by longevity gives the truest picture of a tree’s worth.

Considering the economics, wouldn’t it be more effective to trade fewer trees that grow large for a larger quantity of trees that last less than ten years?

A tree costing five thousand dollars to plant would yield fifty thousand dollars in accumulated benefits, using estimate values from a U.S. Forest Service study (Ebenreck 1988).

From this perspective, trees are our most economical urban utility.

There is an exceptional opportunity to make unimagined changes to cities, conferring benefits that multiply with time. Trees can have a major role in recreating cities that are biologically fit for human enjoyment. It requires installing a whole new utility system consisting of branches and roots and leaves, utilizing sustainable planting methods. The planting sites of central city streets and plazas will challenge our technical ingenuity to reshape the open spaces of the city. Artistry and scientific skill can combine to convert old cities into places of delight and culture, with trees that outlive people. Now may be the moment in history to capture this great opportunity.

Making cities livable by installing trees that will last will contribute to regional and global sustainability.

Henry Arnold, member of FASLA, practices landscape architecture as principal of Arnold Associates, based in Princeton, New Jersey. His advocacy for urban trees takes many forms, including his book, Trees in Urban Design (2nd edition, 1993), urban landscape design projects in the U.S. and S.E. Asia, lectures, and articles.

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The Ramser Team Forrest & Helen Ramser

Personal & Business Mentors

“The task ahead of you is never as great as the power behind you.� - Ramser

Positive Impact From SustainablePlus Shade Trees

Ramser Vision & Legacy

Forrest Ramser passed along his VISION to Tim Patterson & Mike Glenn Beginning in 1986

Tim & Mike are passing along the RAMSER VISION to our young partners

We will continue the RAMSER VISION

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Select Trees Group Partners DUSTIN ADAMS

• Started at Select Trees in 2012 • Education/Marketing • Sales Support • Customer Service • Quality Control • Business Management

JESSE AGUILERA • Started at Select Trees in 1998 • Production Team Leader • Pruning • Harvesting • Quality Control

JOSE LUIS AGUINGA

AUGUSTINE AVILA

• Started at Select Trees in 1989 • Tree Tagging • Quality Control • Tree Evaluation • Pruning • Harvesting • Loading Tree Shipments

• Started at Select Trees in 1989 • Production Team Leader • Oglethorpe Production Management • Pruning • Harvesting • Quality Control

HUNTER BLAIR

COREY BROWNING

• Started at Select Trees in 2011 • 2011 Graduate of UGA • B.S. - Major - Agricultural Economics • Education/Marketing • Sales Support • Customer Service • Tree Evaluation

THOMAS CAUDELL

• Started at Select Trees in 2012 • 2012 Graduate of the University of Georgia • B.S.F.R. - Water & Soil Resources • Quality Control • Education/Marketing • Sales Support • Customer Service • Tree Evaluation

• Started at Select Trees in 2004 • 2003 Graduate of UGA • B.S.F.R - Major- Wildlife Biology • Production & Inventory • Quality Control • Tree Shipment Coordination • Tree Evaluation • Business Management • Customer Service • Tree Introductions • Select Sustainable Tree Trust

MIKE GLENN • Founding Partner 1985 • 1974 Graduate UGA • Major in Horticulture • Landscape Contractor 1971-1996 • Business Management • Quality Control • Tree Introductions • Select Sustainable Tree Trust •R&D

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” - Oliver Wendall Holmes

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Select Trees Group Partners BLAKE MILLER

• Started at Select Trees in 2012 • 2012 Graduate of UGA • B.B.A - Major - Management Information Systems • Education/Marketing • Customer Service • Human Resources • Technology Support

GERARDO MURILLO • Started at Select Trees in 1993 • Production Team Leader • Pruning • Harvesting • Irrigation Installation & Repair • Quality Control

MATT NIELSON

TIM PATTERSON

• Started at Select Trees in 2005 • 2005 Graduate of Auburn University • B.S.A - Major - Horticulture • Education/Marketing • Customer Service • Quality Control • Select Sustainable Tree Trust

• Founding Partner 1985 • 1976 Graduate UGA • Degree in Environmental Design • Landscape Architect and Landscape Contractor 1977-1984 • Production Management • Quality Control • Tree Introductions • Prodigy Propagation •R&D

“Security is an illusion. Life is a daring adventure or it is nothing.” - Helen Keller

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Employee Ownership

We will continue the RAMSER VISION

Indeed, the real question is not ‘Why greatness?’ but ‘What work makes you feel compelled to try to create greatness?’ If you have to ask the question ‘Why should we try to make it great? Isn’t success enough?’ then you’re probably in the wrong line of work.” - Jim Collins, Good to Great

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Select Trees Group Time Line 1985 – Tim and Mike start Select Trees in Oconee County 1986 – Forrest Ramser joins Select Trees as investment partner & mentor 1986 – Ramser writes Select Trees’ Goals 1987 – Ramser, Lon Rice, & Buck Griffin set up business agreements between Select Trees & Ramser 1987 – 2009 – Ramser’s continuing encouragement, guidance, & patience lead Select Trees & Tree Introductions to build a

foundation of Excellence

1988 – Select Trees sells first trees 1988 – Select Trees donates first trees 1988 – Dr. Michael Dirr begins consultation with Select Trees 1989 – Dirr initiates concept of Tree Introductions 1990 – John Clark (distributor in Baltimore) is Select Trees’ biggest customer 1990 – John Clark sends poor quality root system from one of our trees that was planted too deep; this initiates Select Trees’ root enhancement process 1991 – Ramser’s focus on Customer Service leads to Customer Advisory Board & much useful advice 1993 – Ramser, Griffin, & Rice revise business agreements to extend terms based on Ramser’s vision & love of people & trees 1993 – Dirr encourages Tree Introductions to vigorously pursue propagation of sustainable trees (especially oaks) 1996-2002 – Select Trees’ most profitable years & debt repayment; Ramser strongly encourages us to reinvest profits in business (especially Research & Development & customer service) 2000 – Tree Introductions (with the help of cooperating licensees) is first in the world to produce own-root oak clones in significant commercial quantities 2001 – Completion of debt repayment along with substantial bonus to Ramser 2001 – As part of expanding Research & Development, Prodigy Propagation is formed 2005 – Begin development of Oglethorpe County farm 2005 – Employee ownership plan (stock purchase plan) initiated along with Select Trees Enterprises, Inc. 2006 – Changing market conditions cause Select Trees to shift targeted customer base away from brokers and distributers 2006-2012 – Significant investment in moving Select Trees operations from Oconee County to Oglethorpe County 2008 – Formation of a charitable arm (Select Sustainable Tree Trust) to donate and discount sustainable trees to worthy projects 2008 – Largest donation in Select Trees’ history: $1 million in sustainable trees to Trees Atlanta 2009 – Donation of $1 Million in Sustainable Trees to UGA to honor Dr. Michael Dirr 2009 – Very positive accolades from our most critical and largest customer regarding the evolution of the Select Trees Recipe:

Recipe for Select SustainablePlus Trees

Choosing the Right Tree for the Right Place

Superior Genetics

Extreme Nursery Culture

Proper Handling, & Planting

Proper Tree Care

2010 – Our mentor Forrest Ramser passes on and passes the torch of his enduring positive impact and amazing legacy 2011 - Current – Very positive surge in sales beginning in 2011. Select Trees Group is gaining much momentum due to very valuable customers, advisors and partners

Rev. 1.3.2013

Trees I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungy mouth is prest Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.

- Joyce Kilmer