I have a young tree that is being battered on the sidewalk by bikes, people and dogs.

To protect it, I'd like to create some kind of planter. Any advice on brick or stone, mortar or not? It's a historic house, and I'd love to find old cobblestones or something interesting to build the planter, but the place on Fairmount near Broad doesn't have them.

Are there other places around with those great blocks?

BTW I'm all thumbs, but my budget is small. Is this something that I can realistically do myself?

The recent improvements to Ridge Ave in the Roxborough business district include nice stone borders for plantings and trees. They're not cobblestones, but they'll stick up enough out of the ground if you half-bury them to give some protection. Or you could use mortar to do a second layer. Maybe the RDC can tell you where to get them? Some of my neighbors have surrounded their street trees with red bricks that are curved on the ends so they stick up and have a nice scalloped look. That's nice, too.

Whatever you choose, don't act on the temptation to fill the planter with more soil, covering the trunk of the tree. This will eventually cause the trunk to rot. Just leave the soil around the tree at it's current level.

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“The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath.” - W. C. Fields

There is a place in New Hope. Can't remember the name but they sell all kinds of antique garden pieces, wrought iron fencing and the like. They should have cobblestones.
You might also consider Craigslist Look under their 'materials' listing. or use their search block for cobblestone. Good luck.

ReStore in Fishtown does salvage as well. Worth a shot.

http://www.re-store-online.com/

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Pete