Okay. So I have a really weird thing I really love and that is arbutus trees. They’re absolutely my favourite tree in the world and I am fortunate to have quite a few within a reasonable distance from where I live.

You can find them commonly on the southern coasts of British Columbia, but they have been known to extend all the way down to northern California. You generally only find them near beaches and they prefer to be exposed and in areas with little to no water. This is why when you do encounter them you tend to be on steep hills or cliffs as opposed to flat land. They grow rather tall and can reach as high as 30 metres.

As a consequence, having one of your own in a yard is not practical. Additionally, they are terrible for making anything out of as the wood tends to grow quite crookedly due to the nature of the environments it is found in. Growing them in the city is difficult as evident by this Vancouver tree census data, there are only 9 of them on public property.

In any event, for my birthday this year, I made a point to book a place near where the trees could be found since they make me so happy. I hope that this share made you happy too!