Trees. Those things that people can take for granted or wait for others to take care of. I know my neighbors think I am beyond a literal tree hugger. I love our trees and we have had to do a lot of maintenance since we bought this house. We moved in with a 320 foot red oak hanging over the house. Literally. That was a tree we couldn’t avoid taking down. There was no amount of corrective pruning that would occur that could save it. However, it lives on as a sculpture by Marty Long.

Every year, twice a year we have a pruning session. But now that we have had a few solid years of consecutive pruning, shaping, and dead limb/tree removal we are reaping the benefits. It has been a necessary expense that is so worth it. (If you are in my area we use Treemendous Tree Care and they are AMAZING!)

People tend to put off routine tree care. And you just shouldn’t. Well maintained trees ADD value to your property and the ones which aren’t well-maintained DETRACT from the value of your property.

Developers today for the most part like to clear cut big, majestic and dare I say heritage trees and add spit sized trees to new developments that don’t last (think Bradford Pear which has an average but not guaranteed life span of about 20 years.) So I think today in the US we are stuck with a lot of invasive and sub par trees because we have allowed so many magnificent ones to just get cut down or die from neglect.

I went on a house tour this past weekend. The Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust 15th Annual Historic House Tour. I am a proud tour sponsor. One of my favorite things every year about this tour are these amazing properties where people garden and love their trees. I saw some trees that took my breath away this year (and gardens too!)

A lot of people are afraid of trees. I wish they wouldn’t be. I will admit my woods can flip me out a little during a good storm because you can hear the whoosh of wind through the trees. But then I look at the trees and the amazing ways they bend and turn with the wind now that we have done a good bit of preventative maintenance. It’s kind of beautiful to watch them move.

And when I went to Scott Arboretum for their plant sale I was once again reminded of how pretty Swarthmore, PA is because of THE TREES!! (I belong to Scott Arboretum and Jenkins Arboretum)

Arboretums give me ideas and inspiration. It was at Jenkins that I fell in love with Chestnut Oaks. Only it was hard to find them to plant. Then I met John Rosenfeld who owns Go Native Tree Farm in Lancaster County PA. Go Native is amazing. They are a source for trees for re-foresting of our woods and native shrubs and ornamental trees. They also have orchard and nut stock.

John Rosenfeld, PE, is the owner and co-founder of Go Native Tree Farm. He has been actively working for twenty years to identify solutions for threatened eastern North American tree species.

And guess what??