Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
People have become irrationally paranoid about trees falling on their houses, and also, it seems, of a leaf rake.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hollytree
There are also certain ethnic groups (in these parts) who eschew trees- like the Portuguese. Italians and Jews don't seem to care much about them either. It might have to do with preferring the look of the homeland.
No trees in Europe? Really?
My Italian-born grandfather had two cherry trees, two plum trees and two apple trees in his 35 x 150 small-town yard. His neighbors had apple and walnut trees. And yes, they were all Italian, too.
You know what really drives me crazy is a huge parking lot without a speck of shade. It may have a few spindly's that don't do anything. I have concluded it's a liability thing. They are afraid something will drop and they'll get sued - or connecting to water is too much expense. Cement parking is so ugly and hotter than blazes.
No it's a tree root thing, at least out here It will break the asphalt eventually and cost more money to fix it. Places out here that break up the parking lot with trees (businesses have incentives here to do so), typically choose deep rooting trees to minimize damage.
They are developing a heavily wooded lot behind my house. They are clear cutting the entire lot but had to agree to "reforest" the area once they are done building in order for zoning to sign off on their application. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
They are developing a heavily wooded lot behind my house. They are clear cutting the entire lot but had to agree to "reforest" the area once they are done building in order for zoning to sign off on their application. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
That part I can get. In some places "wooded" lots are just former farmland now overgrown with invasive trees like black locust and Ailanthus, hardly desirable woods.
That part I can get. In some places "wooded" lots are just former farmland now overgrown with invasive trees like black locust and Ailanthus, hardly desirable woods.
And certain types of trees have root systems that can cause havoc on foundations and such.
I am one of those people who have never planted a tree. The contractor planted a river birch in my front yard and I still have it. But I can't find a tree that doesn't make a mess. If I was out of the city limits I could burn leaves but you can't do that inside the city. Those big old oaks trees always look nice but I have a very small yard.
I'm actually asking why the BUYERS never plant them, even years later.
Because they are deeply in debt from the house purchase & granite upgrades. When I was house hunting last year, I viewed homes that still had dirt backyards after 8-10 years!
My house in the same neighborhood had 1 tree, in the front yard planted by the developer. Oh, and a couple of ugly palms in the backyard that I pulled out. I hired a professional landscaper for a yard plan (vs winging it myself) & tree recommendations. We even took a tour of the neighborhood to look at trees because I wasn't thrilled with some of his choices, but after seeing the trees, I loved them! He just planted 10 trees for me. Re-grading the flower beds properly (which the developer was incapable of doing), adding drainage, adding drip lines, removing all the boulders & junk rock, and the trees cost me $2000.
I was just thinking about this today. Not just why don't they plant trees, but why don't they plant trees and bushes with 1960s style landscape design. I look at the properties that were properly landscaped in the 1960s and the plants were selected to grow into their spaces. 60 years later and the bushes still look awesome. The more modern landscaping causes bushes to look overgrown in 20 years. A true landscape artist plans for the future.
Anyways, onto trees. I knew someone who moved into an established neighborhood and cut down every tree and bush on the professionally landscaped property. Guess why? She wanted her house to look newer!!!! Like new housing developments that were bulldozed!
Because they are deeply in debt from the house purchase & granite upgrades. When I was house hunting last year, I viewed homes that still had dirt backyards after 8-10 years!
Grass seed isn't expensive. You can buy trees for $15 at Kmart, Walmart, Home Depot, etc. Sure, it's great to buy from a nursery that has great selection. But any landscaping is better than no landscaping.
Quote:
Originally Posted by caligirlz
He just planted 10 trees for me. Re-grading the flower beds properly (which the developer was incapable of doing), adding drainage, adding drip lines, removing all the boulders & junk rock, and the trees cost me $2000.
That's a bargain for all the work he did in addition to trees. You're a lucky girl!
Contemporary homes have few trees for a number of reasons, many of them already mentioned--they drop leaves and other debris making a mess that needs too be cleaned up, their roots can be invasive for pavement and pipe lines, they shade out lawn grass, lots are too small, they can be a homeowners insurance liability. Modern times.
But I think the biggest reason is that trees are a long term project, and Americans are short term thinkers. In the same way that corporations and the stock market are fixated on quarterly profits (3 months) American homeowners do not plan to own their homes long enough to see their saplings and the time/money/labor that trees require to mature. If you're moving for a job or school or a better house every 10 years, why would you invest time and care into a tree that will take 30 years to shade your patio? You'll be gone by then.
10 years ago I bought a large property that had been farmland and so had been cleared. I immediately began planting stuff everywhere--flowers and bushes and trees, everything. As I was planting and watering my pretty new trees I stumbled upon the very sad thought that I was too old and would never live long enough to see my lovely trees grow into the estate I envisioned. That would come after I was gone.
Trees are long term slow projects and we Americans are now creatures of immediate gratification and high speed multitasking. The two are not compatible destinations.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No trees in Europe? Really?
