The Unparalleled Power of Trees
Discover the beauty and magic of trees, and why a landscape without them just isn't the same
Donald Pell
October 24, 2013
I find you can fit most home sites into one of two types of places: those with mature shade trees and those without.
Home sites without trees just aren't the same. No matter how much design is integrated into a site, something is always missing without the pedigree of trees. Whether these trees become places where children climb, we sit in refuge or birds live, the abundance of nature can be revealed to the busiest and most disconnected of us in stewarding trees.
Growing a tree is energy free — as long as the sun is in the sky, roots and shoots will grow. You can get seeds for free from trees in a park or at a friend's home. You can also buy little trees from a local nursery, and with a little care and focus on soil biology, you can watch babies turn into giants right before your eyes. You can pull seedlings out of your garden when they are dormant with little to no experience in proper transplanting and relocate them to desirable locations. With the proper resources, I could deliver 40-foot-tall trees via helicopter right to your location. Obviously that's pretty extravagant, but believe it or not, it's been done. It just goes to show how much value we find in trees.
On a recent consultation, I was taken to a large area where the American beech woodland trees had been cleared of their understory, which had been replaced with turf grass. I was told this area was very important to the owners, but the trees were clearly declining. The change in soil biology via the introduced turf grass, fertilizer, herbicides and compaction caused by commercial mowers had possibly doomed these fragile giants. Sadly, this story is a ubiquitous one, in which "landscaping" is usually the culprit behind much of the actual destruction of nature's beauty.
Since few of us have the ability to helicopter in 40-foot trees and manage them for life, an understanding of abundance can help support a long view of what's possible in landscape design.
Home sites without trees just aren't the same. No matter how much design is integrated into a site, something is always missing without the pedigree of trees. Whether these trees become places where children climb, we sit in refuge or birds live, the abundance of nature can be revealed to the busiest and most disconnected of us in stewarding trees.
Growing a tree is energy free — as long as the sun is in the sky, roots and shoots will grow. You can get seeds for free from trees in a park or at a friend's home. You can also buy little trees from a local nursery, and with a little care and focus on soil biology, you can watch babies turn into giants right before your eyes. You can pull seedlings out of your garden when they are dormant with little to no experience in proper transplanting and relocate them to desirable locations. With the proper resources, I could deliver 40-foot-tall trees via helicopter right to your location. Obviously that's pretty extravagant, but believe it or not, it's been done. It just goes to show how much value we find in trees.
On a recent consultation, I was taken to a large area where the American beech woodland trees had been cleared of their understory, which had been replaced with turf grass. I was told this area was very important to the owners, but the trees were clearly declining. The change in soil biology via the introduced turf grass, fertilizer, herbicides and compaction caused by commercial mowers had possibly doomed these fragile giants. Sadly, this story is a ubiquitous one, in which "landscaping" is usually the culprit behind much of the actual destruction of nature's beauty.
Since few of us have the ability to helicopter in 40-foot trees and manage them for life, an understanding of abundance can help support a long view of what's possible in landscape design.
The home of landscape design icon James Rose not only embraces trees, it includes them. Our staff marveled at the unique house on a recent trip — it's truly a marrying of home and garden. What a joy it must have been to meditate daily in the room adjacent to this tree-filled hall!
Today's catalogs are littered with modular fireplace systems shown starkly sited in blank yards. This custom outdoor fireplace, situated among beautiful palms, makes a great piece of craftsmanship part of a romantic place. It's more than the sum of its parts, if you will.
The guest entrance is one of the first things I think about on projects. How do you circulate guests to the front door and away from the garage doors? Your exterior's experience should be about the landscape and the architecture.
We could all close our eyes and imagine the driveway in this photo flanked by lawn. It wouldn't be nearly as powerful a place. You could pave this driveway with any stone or modular paver available, but the trees that compress the space are what create a magical experience.
We could all close our eyes and imagine the driveway in this photo flanked by lawn. It wouldn't be nearly as powerful a place. You could pave this driveway with any stone or modular paver available, but the trees that compress the space are what create a magical experience.
This beautiful veranda with its great view of the water is even more powerful because it is framed by trees. The trees bring the distant landscape into the foreground. I love how this space has none of those boring cookie cutter shapes on perfect centers, but instead highlights the gnarly, clumped, perfectly imperfect trees.
We built this terrace above a steep slope that required large retaining walls. Precautions were taken to ensure that the branches of this apple tree and the red maple tree beyond were kept intact.
In one of our more embarrassing moments, a loader caught and split an important branch. We immediately brought one of our arborist partners in, who managed to save the branch. These plants are so valuable, they're not above a little surgery from time to time.
In one of our more embarrassing moments, a loader caught and split an important branch. We immediately brought one of our arborist partners in, who managed to save the branch. These plants are so valuable, they're not above a little surgery from time to time.
These beautiful trunks were important enough to the owners that a deck was built around them for their preservation. Their less-than-perfect forms act as sculptures in the garden.
Trees sequester carbon, cool the environment, fix nitrogen levels, make oxygen, create biomass and support habitats (not to mention supporting whoever uses this swing). This beautiful tree is a critical addition to the home, and I'm sure it's valued for its form and function.
Here's a beautiful home with an artfully designed entrance. The simplicity of the details is worth noting: gravel drive, curb, sidewalk, generous landing and walk. It's hard to keep it simple, but this design did it. The ground plane managed with monkey grass (Liriope spicata, USDA zones 4 to 10) is bold and elegant. No doubt this landscape would have felt unfinished without the elegance of mature trees.
The experience of resting in a woodland is much different than that of being on a terrace set in lawn or among daylilies. These areas create great opportunities, but many times these beautiful places are left unrealized and undeveloped. Whether these areas are around the home or in the distant landscape, they are powerful places that are worth considering as part of your habitat.
When you light trees, you bring ambient light to the area and encourage circulation to it. A lit landscape viewed from inside a home is a great asset and encourages movement to the outside. Focusing landscape lighting on trees rather than paths draws the eye up and stokes curiosity.
The beauty and power of the forest is clear in this photo. The slope could have been decorated with plants, which most certainly would have degraded the landscape. Instead, simple understory plants celebrate the majestic woodland.
I plant my share of flowering understory trees — and the landscape wouldn't be complete without them — but I encourage you to consider planting shade trees, no matter what the size of your property is. Spend some time considering how your landscape might evolve in 15 years with some mature shade trees, or how you could create an experience among the trees you might have on your property.
If you have large trees on your property, seek out those knowledgable about soil biology and plant health care to help manage them. Creating balance in a landscape can be inexpensive if you manage it properly, and the experience of living with an abundant landscape can be invaluable.
Read more about the care of trees
I plant my share of flowering understory trees — and the landscape wouldn't be complete without them — but I encourage you to consider planting shade trees, no matter what the size of your property is. Spend some time considering how your landscape might evolve in 15 years with some mature shade trees, or how you could create an experience among the trees you might have on your property.
If you have large trees on your property, seek out those knowledgable about soil biology and plant health care to help manage them. Creating balance in a landscape can be inexpensive if you manage it properly, and the experience of living with an abundant landscape can be invaluable.
Read more about the care of trees
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Now when a family member passes on or when there is a new addition to the family via birth or marriage, we plant a tree on our property to commemorate the event. The tree planting is officiated by a small family gathering and ceremony honoring those lives.
My next dream project would be to reforest the large expanse of front lawn. Hopefully the local nursery will be able to put together a master plan that can be executed over the next few years.
Thanks for the article, and all the comments, so inspiring to read!
I love this article! Well done! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼