Gardener’s Journal: The trees have it…

Ruth Vold-Markle
Nov 2 · 2 min read

A quick look back at the photos of nine years ago reminds me how much our outdoor space has changed. We had eight ash trees in our space then and were backed onto a bush lot that contained large trees and smaller bushes. It is true that adjustments can be made to our eyes and our memory, but the photos catch the truth. The land looked very different!

When the ash trees were taken down 4 years ago the space opened up to more sunlight. Lovely for different perennials and also gave our smaller trees more opportunity to flourish. Two years later the bush behind was cleared out and suddenly everything opened up to sunlight and rains and winds.

This new wide open space is swept often by high winds. And when it rains, well…the ground is hard pressed to cope with all the water.

The trees that were present nine years ago did a great service to our space. Even though they were dying, the ash trees soaked up a lot of water. The bush behind us had a few puddles after a hard rain, but now it is almost impossible to see where the creek ends and the land begins. The absence of the trees and the service they performed for the land and the life there is very visible now. It is no joke when I say I am walking into a bog some days. The plentiful water is not being absorbed by tree roots or feeding tree growth. It will take some time for our evergreen trees to be the size and strength to help out. Even though the birds bravely hang in there with our new space, I know they struggle with this change too. We all miss the big trees.

It is difficult to appreciate trees all the time. Especially after a huge storm when their branches have collided with life and power. It might be easy to say, “I wish they were gone!” But I can say from the record of my own history in our space, without solid trees…things are worse, much worse. We need trees to off set the winds, to utilize the heavy rains, to provide canopy from sunlight and snow and to give home space to smaller life. And we need them for the light filtering soft greens of spring, the shade of summer, the incredible colour they add to autumn and the sustainable strength to hold back the cold winds that often accompany winter.

Oh yes, I’m all for planting more trees, because trees help to balance and sustain our lives in so many ways. And we need to keep growing green… trees take us a long way towards that goal! So keep growing green my friends…

Ruth Vold-Markle

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Retired but not tired and interested in pursuing knowledge and practical work with conservation, gardening and horticulture