Designing and managing your gardens and landscapes to survive future Hurricanes like Sandy should be the new order of the day. Engaging design forethought and setting proper maintenance goals so homeowners will have greater understanding of what it will cost to care for their property, if they aren’t doing all the work themselves. The reality is, as landscapes and gardens grow larger, greater care, time and effort are needed to maintain the growing value. If and when trees and specimens overgrow, this is when they become vulnerable to storms and their many damaging elements. Garden survival must begin with recognizing the neglect in the landscape and addressing it before the next brutal storm event occurs.
So where to begin. How about the homeowner with existing gardens and large trees. So if this applies to you where do you begin. My first inclination would be to email or call Plant With Me Today. If this isn’t an option then the next best thing would be to call your trusted Arborist, certified by the state you live in. This individual can review and assess the health and safety of the trees on your property. There are times when it costs to pay to have a qualified arborist and climber go into your trees looking for hazards. The least obvious hazard that arborist are looking for are old wounds in the top half of your large trees that never properly compartmentalized creating very dangerous heavy limbs high up in the air. If this is present in any of your trees you won’t know it till it’s too late. Once an arborist leaves your property if he or she didn’t write you a report stating his or her findings that arborist and the company he or she works for becomes liable for any future damage caused by his or her neglect/lack of communication.
I don’t need to alarm everyone. I have had first hand experience in neglect caused by others lack of due diligence. In today’s world of supper storms, typhoons, tornados and extreme winds, the value of being proactive is more important then ever before. It isn’t only the practice of responsible safety we are trying to engage in but the ability to maintain the value of the trees and gardens we have paid to install in and around our homes. This brings me to the other group of homeowners who have had their property designed and planted.
Any time you spend money to improve the property surrounding a home you need to consider the value of maintaining the investment you put into the grounds. Each and every woody ornamental, specimen tree and evergreen, ground cover and flowering evergreen need to be managed and maintained to their desired height and width so as to fit into the man made world they were planted into. If you or your landscaper is pruning your property once a year there is definitely neglect occurring in the landscape and gardens. Unfortunately too often this neglect is not realized until it is beyond repair. This is were we need to consider the value of being more responsible with our past and future investments, health and safety around your homes coupled with long term costs.
My only suggestion now would be to go outside and look at how close your trees are to your home, driveway, walkways, pool and play areas. If your trees are taller then your home and overhanging branches are less then 5 feet from any of these areas I recommend you have them reviewed and managed as soon as possible. If ever you need assistance or additional insights please don’t hesitate to contact me @ landscapelove100@gmail.com or directly through the website.
Good luck to all and have a healthy and happy 2013 holiday season. Till next time, peace today, tomorrow and always.