trees, conservation and other questions
We are lucky enough to live in an area which has lots of native vegetation, including huge eaucalyptus trees. When our house was built some thirty years ago trees were planted on the narrow side, between our house and our neighbour's. Some of these now tower over our house dropping leaves into the guttering and dropping huge limbs without warning.
Since moving here we have talked often about the dangers versus the advantages of having these wonderful trees so close to the house and with heads over ruling our hearts we have decided that ten trees have to go. This has been a really difficult decision and I do hope that it is the correct one. We are in a fire prone area so this is another consideration.
The trees pictured are at our back fence and are to remain. They give an indication of the size and unruly nature of the trees around us.
Of course we will plant another 20 trees and shrubs: there is space for some away from the house.
With all the natural disasters all over the world I cannot help worrying about what we are doing to our own little environment.
5 comments:
I hear you on this one. We have huge mountain ash gums, some probably over 100 feet tall around our house. One of the trees next door came down across the front of our driveway last year and made a big mess of our front yard. Infact, it was only half of the tree that came down (it was huge)! Thankfully it wasn't too close to the house.
I hope getting the trees close to your home removed makes for less mess and gives you some sort of fire break. I think the fact you are replanting shrubs is a great alternative.
Jacinta
It is always hard to cut a living thing down, but sometimes it has to be done. We had to take a few trees out last year that were hanging over our house and they were white birches which are beautiful but the rot right up
the inside of the trunk. They were rotting and had to go. But they gave their life for our wood fires and heated us through that next winter where there ash went back to the compost to nourish the earth. Everything cycles. xox Corrine
Dian, We are currently doing the same thing, but only with smaller trees that we can cut down ourselves before they create a problem. We also plan to plant smaller shrubs in their place. Laurel
Well said Corrine....with all thats going on around the world and the weather, safety much come first.
It's always hard to come to this decision, but when you weigh up the pros and cons I think you are doing the right thing. It's a mammoth job for those who do not have access to heavy equipment, expensive probably more to the point. Although I too have a love of trees, I fail to see why people need them so close to their homes, for the very reasons you've given. Good luck with such a task.
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