Author Jason Combs investigates how trees—and particularly the imagery of trees—played a powerful role in shaping perceptions of place in the Great Plains during the early twentieth century. Because the grasslands were often viewed as barren, treeless, and uninviting, boosters, local governments, and ordinary people engaged in campaigns to promote tree planting and to orchestrate design standards in towns. Combs traces how these efforts intersected with visual culture, notably through postcards, which served both to reflect and to cultivate ideas about what communities could be: civilized, hospitable, green, and modern.