Here’s our round-up of the most interesting (and mostly tree-related) stuff from the web this week. Enjoy!

• The world’s oldest trees are disappearing.
• Related: A map of the world’s oldest trees.
• NatGeo sends its photographers to document research on the President in Sequoia National Park.
• Damage to the NYBG from Superstorm Sandy.
• One non-tree thing: Asking great questions.
• Above: Time-lapse of fall in Central Park.

For your reading pleasure, here’s our latest collection of interesting stuff from the web. Have a great weekend!

• The richest metro areas in the United States.
• Top social media trends of 2013.
• Great training opportunity on tap in Colorado from L&L columnist Jim Huston.
• The latest edition of MOWmentum is live! Get it for iOS and Android tablets today.
• Learn how to best use local search.
• 5 invasive plants you can eat. (via Bates Nursery)
• Pantone releases its official color of 2013.
• Above: Bill and Ed discuss the foundation of a plan for profit.

Here’s our weekly collection of interesting stuff from the web. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

• A coast-to-coast tour of America’s greatest landscapes by a newly minted LA grad.
• 35 graphs that show how your spending habits change as you age.
• A tiny arboretum of unsung plants.
• Four questions to ask yourself this winter.
• How plants can detect bombs. (via @BatesNursery)
• IA Confidential, the latest installment from the video team at the Miami-Dade County Extension office. (via Martha Golea)
• The science of email subject lines explained.
• Above: The best video of a weed-fighting superhero that you’ll see today.

Here’s our digest of cool stuff that will make you smarter. Enjoy your reading, and we’ll see you Monday.

• A great guide to designing outdoor rooms. (via @belgard)
• The latest research on equipment theft in America.
• The man behind Pinterest.
• ASLA has released a beautiful interactive guide to D.C. parks.
• What West Nile is doing to people in Texas.
• Science has confirmed: Summer was hot.
• Above: 60 years of American economic history in one graph.

Here’s our weekly digest of cool and interesting stuff. Happy reading, and we’ll see you next week!

• It’s now cheaper to buy than rent in America’s top 100 markets.
• See also: Trulia’s 2012 rent vs. buy report.
• New stats on who’s using smartphones.
• Also: New stats on online photo sharing.
• How office park landscapes can reduce water use. (via @BldgOpMgmt)
• Thinking about supermodels.
• Amazon fungi: Making it rain.
• Above: What you need to know about gross margins from the Harvest Group.

Here’s our round-up of the most interesting stuff from the web. Enjoy your long weekend. We’ll see you back here Tuesday.

• Home prices show promise in 20 markets.
• The summer drought’s impact on the Mississippi, from the air.
• Baby busters.
• The best way to share stories on Facebook. (via @BaderRutter)
• 2012 is the worst year for West Nile virus. Ever.
• Millenials are the cheapest generation.
• American homes, while smaller, are still giant.
• Three simple questions that could change the world.
• Above: A brief history of the brief history of viral videos.

Here’s our digest of the most interesting stuff for your weekend reading pleasure. Enjoy!

• New research on how plants grow. (via @BatesNursery)
• Success can mean lying to yourself.
• New PLANET safety training you should check out.
• How much we make and what we spend it on.
• Why entrepreneurs (and other creative types) like to hang out together.
• Above: Roger Phelps on how a set of chaps saved his life.

While spending 12 hours in the blistering heat might not sound like the smartest idea, it turns out that spending more time outdoors improves the way our brains work.

A research team led by Marc Berman of the University of Michigan gave participants a standard memory and attention test then assigned some of them to walk through downtown Ann Arbor, and others to walk through the impressive campus arboretum. The participants were tested again upon their return, and beyond a doubt the group that took the nature walk scored significantly better.

Here’s what he original study, published in 2008, found:

In sum, we have shown that simple and brief interactions with nature can produce marked increases in cognitive control. To consider the availability of nature as merely an amenity fails to recognize the vital importance of nature in effective cognitive functioning.

Researchers repeated a similar study this year to see if exposure to greenspace would influence subjects with major clinical depression.

The study prompts several conclusions. The first, not really tied to cities, is that nature walks might provide a cost-efficient supplement to traditional treatments for major depression. As the researchers point out, the mood priming did work, meaning study participants set out on their journey thinking about a negative personal event. The fact that their positive affect improved despite this sour state shows the cognitive power of park land.

The second conclusion, more germane for our purposes, is that “incorporating nearby nature into urban environments may counteract” some of the cognitive strains placed on the brain by the city, the authors write. Recent research has suggested economic and crime benefits of urban greenery; now advocates can legitimately add “public health” to their list of arguments.

So, in conclusion: The urban and managed landscape doesn’t just look good – it makes you smarter and feel better about yourself.

Here’s our round-up for the week.

• How some firms game Yelp reviews.
• 10 largest green roofs worldwide. See also: Our 2011 Green Roof Guide.
• Economic power of top U.S. cities, 1978 to now.
• Learn how to tumblr from Mr. Tumblr himself. Related: Bates Nursery is killing it on Tumblr.
• Above: Living wall installation at the Plaza Hotel in New York. (via @PIAgrows)

Here’s our Friday digest of fun and interesting stuff from the web. Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

• Small business M&A activity is at its highest point in three years.
• Phoenix housing is back on track. (via @martygrunder)
• How we pay taxes.
• Joe Calloway offers some great advice.
• We should all aspire to this level of brand loyalty.
• Modern (business) etiquette.
• Above: Mike Schwarze of Mike’s Tree Care saves a baby owl, remains awesome while doing so. (via @voiceoftreecare)