The Historic District

Apparently what I just found out, is that the large tree in back of my house is a non native, somewhat invasive tree native of China. Cinnamomum camphora




I was told, that if you have one of these Camphor trees, you will never get sick. Well....I have lived here for two and a half years, and knock on Camphor wood, I have not even had a head cold.

Interesting. I wonder what the property is that causes that medicinal or general health boosting effect.

Lily left the valley wrote:Interesting. I wonder what the property is that causes that medicinal or general health boosting effect.

camphor, lol. My grandmother used it on me all the time; for everything.

Olson185 wrote:

Lily left the valley wrote:Interesting. I wonder what the property is that causes that medicinal or general health boosting effect.

camphor, lol. My grandmother used it on me all the time; for everything.

Sometimes, obvious isn't always obvious. I feel like a dolt.

I had no idea how many different things Camphor is used for til I wiki'd it. It's a word I had heard, but not in a long time. Not sure that I ever knew what it really was and forgot.

Interesting that rosemary has some in it.

Lily left the valley wrote:

Olson185 wrote:

Lily left the valley wrote:Interesting. I wonder what the property is that causes that medicinal or general health boosting effect.

camphor, lol. My grandmother used it on me all the time; for everything.

Sometimes, obvious isn't always obvious. I feel like a dolt.

I had no idea how many different things Camphor is used for til I wiki'd it. It's a word I had heard, but not in a long time. Not sure that I ever knew what it really was and forgot.

Interesting that rosemary has some in it.

Oh, no, don't feel like a "dolt". There are innumerable things I wouldn't know if I hadn't been raised by grandparents who had a farm in "Amish territory". "Camphor" seems to be as uncommonly known about now as "rhubarb" or "burdock".

Olson185 wrote:

Lily left the valley wrote:

Olson185 wrote:
camphor, lol. My grandmother used it on me all the time; for everything.

Sometimes, obvious isn't always obvious. I feel like a dolt.

I had no idea how many different things Camphor is used for til I wiki'd it. It's a word I had heard, but not in a long time. Not sure that I ever knew what it really was and forgot.

Interesting that rosemary has some in it.

Oh, no, don't feel like a "dolt". There are innumerable things I wouldn't know if I hadn't been raised by grandparents who had a farm in "Amish territory". "Camphor" seems to be as uncommonly known about now as "rhubarb" or "burdock".

Rhubarb was something I learned about when I lived in Alfred, NY. One of my professors had it on her pond property, and the local hardware store had homemade pies every week which included rhubarb. Here, there's a neighbor that sells it at their house from a tiny farmstand set up, and they have it at the local Farmer's Market each Thursday too. It's been prevalent in a few other places we've lived too. I've not yet braved making anything with it yet though.

Now burdock, that I knew a bit about because of how it inspired Velcro. I made a particular wood furnishing project in undergrad where all the storage boxes had different types of fasteners traditionally used for clothing. So I did a lot of research back then about fasteners, and that's what led me to learn about burdock.

Yes Camphor. Sometimes I break a twig and snort a little.

How about Red Cedar? I now have Red Cedar logs in all shapes and sizes. Here is why:



This tree was poorly trimmed, and as you can see one side was completely into the pole and wire feed to the house. Since this pic was taken over a year ago more of the tops on the right broke and fell into the street, and the rest was leaning a lot more into the power.

The tree was old, hollow and looked like a giant weed.

So I called in a tree service and trimmed the afore mentioned Camphor tree away from the house, and got a good deal on removing the dangerous and ugly red cedar, and turned it into a corkscrew shaped flower box. I cut some planks from one of the logs and screwed them into the trunk for potted flowers, and stuck a small palm in the hollow middle.

A work in progress result:

Nicholas wrote:Yes Camphor. Sometimes I break a twig and snort a little.


So I called in a tree service and trimmed the afore mentioned Camphor tree away from the house, and got a good deal on removing the dangerous and ugly red cedar, and turned it into a corkscrew shaped flower box. I cut some planks from one of the logs and screwed them into the trunk for potted flowers, and stuck a small palm in the hollow middle.

A work in progress result:

cedar stump.jpg

We've got a similar situation, in oak, and I'm wondering if something should be done to help preserve the remaining trunk and the 6"-8"slices of trunk we intend to use for an ad hoc table. The slices could be brought inside for treating. The remaining trunk...not so much, lol. Decking water seal? Something that wouldn't be horrible to eat off of or touch with fingers handling food, etc.? I'm thinking one of the slices might look 'nifty' all shiny and 'slick'.

Make a path with the wood slices:

Willa wrote:Make a path with the wood slices:

cute-diy-garden-path-idea-diy-flowers-gardening.1.jpg

06ee735217d239c548e5c7b7a3b613e3.jpg

Very cool!