Don’t Walk Away From Quietly Crying Plants

So it has been a little longer than I would have liked but here I am. I was out last night with a number of men from my temple’s Men’s Club and besides the two friends I like I couldn’t help look at the trees and plants in the dark. I wanted to scream at the homeowner but he is such a good man I couldn’t.

Besides the fact that I am obsessive about maintaining plants at the highest level in  man made environments, respectfully I have to understand the cost to maintain things at this level is not easy for most homeowners. So the question becomes how to address this conflict between management and costs. I have come up with the solution but it still requires commitment, understanding of value in landscapes and time. Time has to be the most difficult element to comprehend because of the immediate gratification world we exist in today.

To fix a tree, or any living plant involves a process of removal, by a pruning expert, and regeneration of material, which is the plants responsibility. What is hard to define to home/garden owners is the restoration process can take a number of years. The time needed to fix a specimen to obtain the results desired can be anywhere between 18 months and 7 years. All the while managing new growth and performing developmental pruning (definition: pruning that is ongoing throughout the restoration process. Selectively choosing what pieces remain, what pieces are removed and what pieces are pruned and trained to grow in the directions needed to meet client and plant expectations). Definitions are so much easier to demonstrate through action than words.

I will be purchasing a new video camera and taping some of the pruning I perform with audio that help my community better understand the art and dirction involved in restoring plants.

Until then I will be thinking about all that I need to do to help everyone understand the importance of fixing and restoring your landscape verses ripping it out and starting from scratch.

Live well and look up towards your trees. They have so much to say and so much to give.