Many of you will have seen this view of our garden. One of the features of this site is the borrowed landscape of large trees in the Church grounds beyond. The area has twenty or so mature sycamore trees around it's boundaries.
I've always appreciated the green backdrop and the part the trees played in bringing wildlife into our garden. Crows nested there every year and the young ones fledged from it's branches.
But now they are being chopped down...
As we live in a Conservation Area replacing the mature trees over several years might have been less damaging to the immediate environment and to the view. We're hoping the that new trees will be appropriate for the area. I fancy a copper beech or two myself even if I'm not around to appreciate them when they get to maturity.
There is also the question of the tree stumps. They could do one of three things
• leave them alone
• use a stump grinder to get rid of them
• treat them with sodium chlorate (heaven forbid)
Lets hope they don't go for the third option...
So I am very sorry to see these statuesque old trees disappear from our landscape (a selfish opinion I was told) and we'll get an unrestricted view of the flats opposite. Yippee!
We didn't want to see the main tree being taken down bit by bit this afternoon so we took off to a local wood to walk the dog and hug a tree or two.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's selfish to be upset for the loss of the trees, after all they add unmeasurable beauty and pleasure to an area.
Although in this case it is for safety reasons it won't stop us mourning the loss.
It always pains me to see a tree disappear, just thinking of the consequences on wildlife, us and the environment is deeply upsetting.
As you said; why wasn't this noticed sooner and it's a shame they cannot do it in steps rather than having the sudden change.
Oh, my. I feel your pain. I have sat at home to watch many a tree come down bit by bit. It makes the blood run hot and cold.
ReplyDeleteI do hope that they plant more trees in that location for you. It seems that in our small town, and many like it in the US, tree removal means naked streets. There is little regard for the need for trees in communities.
Oh no, I'm so sorry to read this and feel your pain. This would upset me too.
ReplyDeleteOh how horrible! You have my sympathies. :(
ReplyDeleteIf they didn't cut the trees too close to the ground, maybe an artist can create wood sculptures. It is sad to see a live tree come down.
ReplyDeleteOh Janet, I hate seeing any trees being cut down.. but yours were so brilliant and of course hid the horrible view of the houses opposite. It must feel a little naked now you are so overlooked.. hopefully the new ones will grow quickly, it could not have happened at a worse time.. crocosmiaxx
ReplyDeleteThat is sad! I feel for you - it is a part of 'your' landscape, and you have the right to be sad about their removal. Are you certain they will replace the trees? If so, perhaps they will be gorgeous ones!
ReplyDeleteOh, that hurts. I'm sorry, Janet.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sad! We had some diseased trees on our property that we had to take down, and I hated it. Trees offer so much to the landscape...hope the new ones grow fast!
ReplyDeleteWe do hate to see trees get destroyed. Last fall we had an early snow that was very wet and heavy. The leaves had not yet fallen to the ground, so there was tremendous damage to trees all over. Cities looked like tornados had ripped through the streets targeting only the trees. Many have been lost and many more maimed so badly that it will take years for them to recover. I am sorry that "your" trees have been removed. You will have a hard time getting used to the bare landscape.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for your loss.
ReplyDeleteI, too, live with a view of trees, but fortunately it's a grade 1 listed cemetery, so they would never be so harsh. I think it seems very brutal to take down all the trees, and yes, why the *bleeb* didn't they take care of the trees over the years? It makes me kind of mad and sad to hear.
Sorry to hear this, knowing that it will be a huge change of appearance in your view even though the trees are outside your property. Cross fingers indeed that they don't use sodium chlorate.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible to at least leave a snag or two for woodpeckers etc?
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ReplyDeleteCan I introduce a slightly more positive note? Although it is sad to see any mature trees coming down, sycamore is not a very well-regarded species because of the relatively few species of invertebrates it supports, and because of its aggressive growing habit which tends to inhibit slower growing species such as oak, alder and hazel which are much more wildlife friendly. It is doubtful if these trees were ever planted; more likely they came into the churchyard as 'weeds'. Why not use the opportunity of their removal and lobby to have saplings of mixed native species as replacements?
ReplyDeleteSeems a bit drastic to me to remove all of these trees at once. I too would be very upset.
ReplyDeleteI have found that any tree can be defined as a "threat" if someone wants to cut it. I hope there is an opportunity to speak out for moderation in this instance.
ReplyDeleteI feel for you Janet and send you a big hug ((((())))) Our neighbour recently felled a mature tree which had been in my view for the last twenty plus years as soon as I opened the hall curtains in the morning :( You did the right thing in going out as it is a painful and upsetting to watch. I hope that there will be replacement plantings soon - will keep my fingers crossed for copper beeches.
ReplyDeleteA neighbour at my old house, on moving in, chopped down half a dozen large, very old yew trees. As soon as the village got wind of his plans we tried to get a tpo slapped on them but we were too late - all felled in an afternoon. I can understand how upset you must be.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy visiting your blog so have nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award. Check out my blog for details of the award.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. I often think councils are too hasty to remove trees because of health or safety and the fear of being sued. Saying that sadly the same attitude seems to prevail at work and a large number of 20 yr old trees have gone in the last couple of years for vague reasons about diseases which my research shows are not likely to cause health & safety reasons at all.
ReplyDeleteThere is also the whole privacy issue as well
I feel for you Janet and all your local wildlife which benefitted from the trees. Lets hope that they plant more saplings, which will grow quite quickly, also, of course, just think of them as the lungs of your area, cleaning up the atmosphere. So sad when people are so afraid of litigation that they go overboard and cut everything down, don't blame you for going out, it would have been dreadful watching them come down.
ReplyDeleteI know just how you feel Janet. The same thing happened to me recently. I am still sad. But now I know not to rely on borrowed scenery anymore. Because there are many tree butchering barbarians out there.
ReplyDeleteSafety versus 'selfish'? Hope that you can force virtue out of necessity - and there will be new trees planted, that will support wildlife!
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your concern and kindness. Writing a post about the tree felling and reading your comments is in some ways cathartic. So I want to look at the positives as suggested by some of you. New trees are being planted. I don't know what yet or how big. The removal of the original trees will give more light to the veg patch. Our Grenadier Apple tree may stop growing at an odd angle. There won't be lots of sycamore seedlings to weed out of the sedum shed roofs or the kitchen garden. And the tree roots once out of the veg border will hopefully not grow again.
ReplyDeleteHaving said all that I'd rather have the original sycamores...
I thought in conservation areas they are supposed to conserve trees and manage them piecemeal. Instead Janet I fear the health and safety crew have crept in here. If it were rooks, they could have nested there for generations back but the crows will miss these roosts too. Hope the replacements soon grow.
ReplyDeletep.s. lovely view of your garden and the purple haze of flowers along the pathway - no itty-bitty magpie style to your planting
I think the lack of maintenance is the problem. One tree fell but it seems unlikely that the others are going to follow suit tomorrow. But I think the Church had a bit of a wobble about health and safety and the tree surgeon is not going to argue on the trees behalf. Under the law here the owners don't have to inform people roundabout. Anyway we have upset some people...
DeleteMy first time to visit.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry this is happening. I, too, could not watch the tree being taken down piece by piece...akin to chopping off the tree's fingers and arms I should think.
Same thing happened in my garden. A group of 'crooks' talked my elderly friend into cutting down her perfectly healthy and stately native loblolly pine because it 'might' have fallen on her house. Of course this was nonsense. I almost died watching them take away my borrowed view. I guess time will heal the wounds.
On a positive note, I love your garden view and garden plan. You have a beautiful garden.
David/Tropical Texana/ Houston, Texas
David, thaks for visiting the site and for your kind words. All photos of the garden will now concentrate downwards and not include the space where the trees once stood..
DeleteSorry to hear that, Janet. I hope they will plant new trees.
ReplyDeleteEven so, you have beautiful garden! The combination of leaves and purple litlle flowers is perfect!!
New trees will be planted, at least. I'm glad you liked the garden. That photograph was taken a couple of years ago when we had a lot of verbena bonariensis which self seeds. We lost wuite a few over the past harsh winters.
DeleteI am so sorry to hear your borrowed view is being taken away. Maybe you could offer to donate a great tree to the church property, and have it planted in just the right spot to help screen the view again. Either that, or do you have room on your side of the fence to plant one?
ReplyDeleteToni, donating a tree was something we had discussed. We planted several trees in our garden but they tend to be whitebeams. birch and a cherry. All will grow larger and taller in time but not the size of the sycamores. When we first came here I wondered about making an orchard where we put the veg garden...
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about the trees. I know how you feel. Neighbours chopped down an ash tree this summer. Now I had a bit of a love hate relationship with the tree. Ash aren't the most attractive trees and it shed it's leaves and seed all over my back border. Ash leaves being thin are really difficult to collect. It did also block a fair bit of light into the garden. However, the birds loved having somewhere to perch and it screened our garden off from 2 other houses. Our garden isn't really big enough to plant a tree there to create a screen and I would have to do some serious redesign to fit one in. We had to remove a birch from our garden the previous summer. It had been planted by the previous owners and had got too big. So the garden feels a bit exposed now. Although we did plant a liquidambar to replace the birch. Although we'll have moved beforeit reaches any sort of decent height.
ReplyDeleteIt's just awful! And sad... After the whole forest was cut down near us in October, I am very sensitive to this subject.
ReplyDeleteA whole forest is really tragic. Many of the forests in Scotland were planted for timber and it is grim when they cut them down in one fell swoop. On the up side they were often planted too close together, nothing could grow underneath and the soil was worn out. With a bit of time everything could regenerate.
DeleteSo sorry you're losing the trees, Janet - like several others who've commented, I feel for you, having had a neighbour cut down several trees which were part of my borrowed landscape - the view from my window is just not the same and it can't be good for our wildlife. At least your Church are planning to plant some new trees in their grounds - I hope they go for something which is wildlife-friendly, attractive, and also fast-growing so you soon have a better view again.
ReplyDeleteI'm almost too scared to ask. Firstly it will probably be seen as interference by the local church and secondly I might not want to hear what trees they have in mind.
DeleteEek, how horrid. I suppose if they really were dangerous - as in an immediate danger - they had to go, but like you I am baffled as to why they just weren't correctly maintained over the years, so that all this could have been avoided. Selfish? Ridiculous, of course it is sad to lose such old and wonderful landscape features. I hope they do the right thing by the local wildlife and just leave the stumps in situ.
ReplyDeleteJanet, good to see you around. It must have taken the owners several weeks to go through the whole process and as some of these "dangerous" trees overhang our garden, I think I quiet word or letter would have been a courtesy.
DeleteSorry to see your loss. Maybe you should have a memorial service to bring some closure. Or maybe you should have a memorial service for your forester. I'm surprised they couldn't figure out a way to leave them in some way (weak branches pruned) until the new trees matured. Sounds like the squeaky wheel is getting greased.
ReplyDeleteI have a Celtis near my old garage/shed.I know it's hollow inside but it doesn't have weak branch angles, so I'm not real concerned as the top still has new growth. Forutunately my neightbor has planted Quercus near by which will eventually replace the shade when the Celtis is removed. Pure luck I suppose they were planted. Thanks for stopping by my blog by the way. greggo
Got it in one, greggo. After the high winds and a bit of a panic I think there was an over reaction.
DeleteA real shame about the trees, I hate to see trees cut down but if they're a danger suppose something has to happen. Hope some lovely native trees are planted in their place. 'Whips' grow very quickly (if that's what they plant) so hopefully it won't be too bad. Let us know what happens!
ReplyDeleteI'm not holding my breath when it comes to the planting of new trees. We shall see...
DeleteOh how awful! At the end of summer some trees were felled a couple of gardens down from us. They wanted more light in their garden which is fair enough. But the sound of the chainsaw was so awful. The dead leaves floated down and landed in our garden.
ReplyDeleteI think if the trees are blocking light there may very well be a case for felling. I think perhaps some people don't appreciate how much maintenance trees need.
DeleteSad, sad, sad.
ReplyDeleteI do like the image of your garden from above though ... Lovely structure and movement.
K
It's handy having windows that look over the garden. I might change the angle of the shots slightly from now on..
ReplyDelete