Murdering trees.

Snicklefritz

Snicklefritz

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About 10 years ago I helped a new neighbor fresh from the city to plant about 12 trees on his then nothing-but-lawn property. Most were Arbor Day bare-root “twigs” but they all grew. There were a couple dogwoods, a crab apple, a cherry, a maple, plus some native flowering shrubs.

Songbirds nested in them and crows held there morning conversations there, and since they’re just across the road, I too have taken pleasure in them.

Now for the past three days my peace has been shattered by the screech of chain saws as the new owner of the property cuts every one of those trees plus several mulberries to the ground.

The reason? “They’re dirty.”

I’m bereft.
 
That's a shame to hear. Where I live, we had a similar instance of a cluster of trees that have been growing since I was young. They are now home to a multitude of birds and squirrels, and it is a joy to hear and watch them. Some neighbours say that the positioning of the trees completely blocks the afternoon sunlight from reaching our homes, leaving them in shade and (relative) and would like them removed - or at least significantly trimmed. I'm happy for them to stay as they are.

Both my and their viewpoints are valid and relevant, and (for now at least) the trees are still there.
 
That is distressing. I get huge pleasure from an orchard that I planted about 15 years ago, and from watching saplings that I transplant every spring gradually grow into sturdy hedges. I cannot imagine how upset I would feel if some philistine grubbed them out.

Having said that, I do remove trees to manage my woods. Last weekend I cut down a larch and 2 yews ( there are hundreds still standing) to increase the light in a clearing in the middle of the wood where I will plant a variety of broadleafs this winter. Partly this is a very long term plan to increase the biodiversity, but I have to admit that there is also an aesthetic component to what is essentially gardening with my chainsaw. I like to think I plant far more than I cut down.
 
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My father was from E Europe (survived ww2) and here in Colorado, he planted an orchard in our backyard, as well as many grape vines (concord).
We had 3 apple, one cherry and two plums and a peach tree. But as time went on, we went down to the 3 apple trees and the many grape vines.

I have a very good friend who's is from the E Europe as well, (different country) and his father had apple's, plum, apricot, and cherry trees in their backyard. But after his father's passing, like the old man and his clock, I went in and cut them all down as they all begin to die. (There is a story in this one. I'm not comfortable in this or my location. Darn Google maps!) But there is a nonfiction story in this.
Next! In truth please.
 
A whole ancient woodlands near me were razed a couple of years ago, I suspect illegally but no one was charged, however there were corruption charges in another context levelled at the controlling body.
£39 million contract issued without tender, supposedly to deal with 'some diseased Larch trees'.
www.bbc.co.uk

Timber scandal: What went on in Natural Resources Wales?

The controversy over timber sales in NRW has already cost one official their job.
www.bbc.co.uk
Thousands of trees have been also felled in My region over the last few years, along many roads in the valleys and around the new road scheme.
I would, cynically, suggest that enough have been felled around roads here to impact co2 absorbtion particulaly if they are taking their environmental test readings at those roads. :rolleyes:
 
My parents had someone put a preservation order on half a dozen oak and beech trees down one side of their land that was next to a small lane.
A developer wanted to widen access to what they hoped would be a new housing estate.
It didn't stop the developer, they bought access over the other side of the planned estate.
For a few years my parents hated the preservation orders and the money they had [theoretically] cost them.
As they got older they enjoyed the peace and quiet of NOT being on a busy road.
For me there is a special place in hell [which I don't believe in] for people that cut down healthy trees or bushes that are not causing a problem.
I will make an exception for Rhododendron and Leylandii [Burn MF Burn!]
 
HareBrain said:
I'm struggling to get even the nutso reasoning behind this. Do you know what he (I'm assuming he) meant?
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Well the mulberries do drop berries and I *might* maybe understand that. The others have this habit of dropping leaves in the fall all over his toxic chemical fed lawn.
 
I love trees. I wakeup in the morning, sit down with my coffee and listen to the birds for a few minutes. Then I take my 22 Ruger and start blasting. The (feral) cats take care of the bodies. Unfortunately, the sweet aroma of fresh napalm in the morning is unattainable, however gunpowder will suffice. This comment maybe entirely facetious, I'll let you decide ...
 
Snicklefritz said:
Well the mulberries do drop berries and I *might* maybe understand that. The others have this habit of dropping leaves in the fall all over his toxic chemical fed lawn.
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Urgh.
I've seen people put in fake plastic lawns.
At least in some areas it is now illegal to pave over your garden because it stops water soaking away and increases flooding - but how enforced that is, is another matter.

I did have a conversation with a friend's neighbour who has an entirely graveled garden, about friend's riotous lush garden which went along the lines "that is so messy, don't you think it is messy?" "No" "Well it is so much tidier to have gravel - and her grass is starting to grow under my fence !" "I like green gardens, and gardens with vegetables and flowers" "Oh!"
 
Yeah, nature can be untidy. So it's good that progress is being made to neaten it up into a nice even layer of ash.
 
Still mourning the garden of one shared house. Pretty much the only gardening we ever did was to cut the bindweed off the apple tree. It genuinely was an accidental biodiversity hotspot - you'd find hawkmoth cocoons just chilling out on the ground, and we actually had snakeshead fritillaries growing wild. Then the landlady got fed up and replaced it all with gravel. I came home to find apple branches being loaded into a woodchipper, apples and all. The stub of the tree did bear fruit the following year, but they kind of tasted of sewage.
 
It's funny, I never thought tree were capable of violence .:( Though I have heard that Larches can be very temperamental during mating season .:unsure:
 
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But then again there was that German / Spanish horror film The Maneater of Hydra. 1967 about a bloodsucking vampire tree.:unsure:
 
BAYLOR said:
It's funny, I never thought tree were capable of violence .:( Though I have heard that Larches can be very temperamental during mating season .:unsure:
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"Macbeth shall never vanquished be until
Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill
Shall come against him."

Medieval Scots knew just how dangerous a rage-maddened tree can be.
 
Fiberglass Cyborg said:
Still mourning the garden of one shared house. Pretty much the only gardening we ever did was to cut the bindweed off the apple tree. It genuinely was an accidental biodiversity hotspot - you'd find hawkmoth cocoons just chilling out on the ground, and we actually had snakeshead fritillaries growing wild. Then the landlady got fed up and replaced it all with gravel. I came home to find apple branches being loaded into a woodchipper, apples and all. The stub of the tree did bear fruit the following year, but they kind of tasted of sewage.
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My condolences. I know that feels like a death in the family with a lot of impotent rage.
 
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