Tree of the Week: Marina Strawberry Tree

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SANTA MONICA -- The equity in your house is vanishing, your mortgage payment is spiking, traffic stinks. But they can’t take away your garden, can they? Which is why every Saturday morning we celebrate a tree, shrub or flower of the week that will brighten your yard and add value to your house.

This week we are pleased to honor the Marina Strawberry Tree, which comes highly recommended from Jonathan Bennett at the Armstrong Gardens Center on Wilshire in Santa Monica. (Admit it, you thought we’d go with Bougainvillea, didn’t you?)

No, we honor Arbutus X ‘Marina’, a handsome little patio tree. ‘It’s a fantastic color,’ Jonathan told me, noting that its mahogany-colored bark is rare in Southern California. ‘It’s incredibly beautiful. It’s a classic patio tree-- it gives shade, it’s not invasive, it will fit into a small patio.’

Here’s what the gardening site www.monrovia.com says about it: ‘Delightful small garden tree having larger dark green leaves than the species. Rosy pink flowers appear at the same time as the red and yellow strawberry-like fruit ripens from previous season flowers.’

Jonathan says it will grow quickly to a height of about 25 feet. His were selling for $59.99. ‘It’s not my favorite tree, don’t get me wrong,’ he said. ‘But it’s a very useful tree.’

Someday we’ll come back to Jonathan and his favorite tree. In the meantime, if you have a favorite tree, flower or shrub -- the kind you think every Angeleno should have in the garden -- send your nominations to lalandblog@yahoo.com