This time of year is notorious for surprise storms that cause not only downed limbs and branches, but sometimes an entire tree. Not sure what to do with storm damaged trees? Why not make Mother Earth happy and turn that wood into something useful and beautiful? Here's a few things you can do with your downed branches and trees:

Dead branches stick out like a sore thumb this time of the year. Trees are no longer dormant, and it's easy to see among the leaves which branches need to be removed. While it's tempting to save a few bucks and do the job yourself, large tree limb removal is often a very dangerous job and should be left to professionals with removal experience and the correct equipment.

Now that spring is here you're probably spending most of your free time out in the yard working on the garden, planting gorgeous blooming flowers and possibly even considering adding a couple new trees. Once you try it, you'll find that when you plant a healthy tree in your home's yard, you'll see how much things change.

Once again it's that time of year when homeowners begin worrying about the weather. Droughts have been becoming more common around the US and are a major concern. Here are some great tips on preparing your trees now to withstand longer periods without water.

Adding additional trees to your yard almost always has more pros than cons. These days, most homes either make due with trees left standing after the lot was initially cleared or the trees that were planted during the original landscaping. Need more convincing to add more trees? Just keep reading.

After finishing your spring planting, you probably complete your seasonal yard maintenance by mulching flowerbeds, trees, walkways and garden paths. While all these areas can certainly benefit from mulching, just make sure to not mulch incorrectly in order to not damage both old and new vegetation.

Now that summer is here, it's time to start looking for signs of damage to your trees from excess heat and lack of nutrients. Trees with diseased roots can also potentially be damaged to the point of dying if heat stress isn't discovered and treated in time.

While shopping for new trees, it's human nature to gravitate toward trees, plants and shrubs that are full of green leaves, shoots, blossoms and flowers, while bypassing the section of the gardening center where the bare root trees are stored.

Now that warmer weather is finally here, you've probably begun spring yard maintenance, including tree pruning. Before you get too carried away, continue reading to see why the tops of those trees need to be left intact.