best area for trees (Fort Collins, Boulder: home, purchasing, upkeep)

[CosmicWizard]

Some Grand Junction ( elevation: 4593 ) homeowners plant Aspen trees in their yards. Most of them look very unhealthy. They don't seem like the happy Aspens along Kebler Pass Road ( forest road 12, connecting Crested Butte highway 135 with Paonia Reservoir and highway 133 )

[Neditate]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

They don't seem like the happy Aspens along Kebler Pass Road ( forest road 12, connecting Crested Butte highway 135 with Paonia Reservoir and highway 133 )

One of my very favorite fall drives! Absolutely stunning.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by DressageRider

I have an aspen in my backyard and it is the most pathetic looking little creature. The just don't do well at lower altitudes.

But we also have walnut, oak, and elm, and they are wonderful.

My friends have cottonwood trees and the cotton that they shed seems like a bit of a pain in the butt.

Some cities require you to plant "cottonless" cottonwoods. Actually, this was an odd spring. We weren't much bothered by the cotton of the neighbors' trees this year.

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

I wondering if it's because it's been so wet. The creek we live next to is lined with huge, huge old cottonwoods and usually it's a huge pain, but not much this year.

I've got mushrooms growing big time in the back yard because of all the rain!

[Katarina Witt]

Something kept the cottonwoods from producing cotton. Our usually beautiful crab apple tree only had a few blossoms, too. In the case of our crab, I think it was b/c it got cold and froze after being warm enough for the tree to make buds.

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by qfrost

I also wondered whether there were some restrictions in the newer areas that prohibited planting trees, based off the number of areas I saw that were really devoid of anything but subdivision houses...

While I have absolutely no idea, it sure looks that way, especially around the 29th street mall area, a virtual wasteland with large shopping areas devoid of large trees, and intersecting 6 to 8 lane boulevards like Phoenix.

Similarly, the smart growth homes and townhouses in the north / northwest of town -- very little vegetation, just row after row of "townhomes."

There seems to have been very little effort made in SOME newer areas of Boulder to preserve the natural vegetation around new buildings, unlike similar cities such as Sedona, Durango, and Flagstaff.

Overall, Boulder is very artificial with a grid layout, and if the original poster wants natural vegetation with Ponderosa pine trees, oak scrub, and wildflowers on curving country roads, live outside the City limits in the foothills.

As a concept, Smart Growth involves theories that have yet to be proven by its critics, such as the theory that commute times will decrease.

In Boulder, they have increased, since infilling has brought more cars and more traffic. Even critics of smart growth like infilling, because it brings in cheaper housing! But one has to accommodate the traffic somehow with tunnels or more expressways.

And, gravelscaping increases evaporation, transpiration, and wind, thereby increasing winter heating and summer cooling costs.

Therefore, implementing principles of smart growth in any given city is potentially unsustainable over the long run.

My own view is that Boulder would look nicer by eliminating the sharp urban growth boundary, and instead, having a gradual transition zone between dense urbanization and farmland. In this scenario, there would be a nice row of trees between the townhomes in North Boulder and the Forest Service office area.

Of course, much of this is merely one's own personal aesthetic preferences. Urban planners never agree with each other :-) Sometime I'll post photos of the Durango Wallmart parking lot and greenbelt, and you'll see what Boulder's 29th street mall COULD look like w/ grass mounds and purple leafed trees!

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

Katiana wrote:

Big hardwood trees are not native to Colorado.

There are some really big old Cottonwood trees along the Colorado river in Grand Junction. I've also seen the big old Cottonwooods along other rivers in Colorado. As far as I know the Cottonwoods are native to Colorado.

Much of this comes down to one's own individual preferences, as is the case within the entire field of urban planning. Cottonwoods, Box Elders, Aspens, and MANY other hardwoods are indeed native, as are Ponderosa Pines. However, looking around Boulder, it seems that gravelscaping has replaced replanting native vegetation in some areas of town. I am no fan of gravelscaping (xeriscaping) and it's partner (smart growth). Same story in Albuquerque, where gravelscaping is even more ubiquitous than in Boulder. Infilling doesn't look that nice when there are no trees around the 4 story condos.

I would suggest doing what they do in Flagstaff: preserve the PondeBullBoxer31 and other trees around new homes and office buildings. Look at the Arbors Apartments in Flagstaff, or any other development in the Woodlands Village area of town as an example -- all the Ponderosa Pines were preserved before and during construction.

Everyone in urban planning in the great southwest mountain towns can learn from what other cities are doing. We can create better and more beautiful communities w/ increasing economic growth. New Properties that preserve large trees can be sold for more money and generate more tax revenue

[CosmicWizard]

I drive by this big old Cottonwood to and from work every day. It's a grand old tree!

[Hipchik]

Xeriscaping is a necessity. Boulder is a semi-arid environment and does not have an endless water supply! (smacks head)! I would have thought, with all of your research that you would know that. (confused)

[DressageRider]

Xeriscaping is not gravelscaping, and as Hipchik stated it is essential in Colorado. It can also look lush and wonderful and is perfectly suited to the region.

29th Street Mall is... what... 2 years old? It will take a while for the trees to grow.

Katiana - Thanks for mentioning your crabapple! Mine barely bloomed this year too and I thought it was probably my fault. It is usually so beautiful. I wonder if it will produce apples this year?