Weird requests
I can’t seem to escape from weird homeowner requests. Just as I think I’ve heard it all in my twenty-two years in the landscape industry, I get hit by a weirdo. Like recently at a multi-family complex. The lady of a certain age came out and she looked distressed. She never really paid much attention to her backyard but now, home from hospital and placed on disability, she wanted changes.
Except, she didn’t have any money and the strata complex was unlikely to foot the bill for a new patio. Or new plants. So, she asked me to remove a Pieris shrub which clearly needed watering to thrive; and, then she pointed to a skinny five-stemmed Japanese maple by the fence.
Seriously?
After reminding me yet again that she was on disability, the lady then asked me to remove the skinny Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) because it was dropping leaves on her neighbor’s patio. Excuse me? Deciduous trees like maples always drop their leaves. This is a basic thing. And leaves are amazing photosynthetic factories. I have a science book devoted to the leaf.
Clearly, the poor tree is reaching out for light because it’s stuck behind a western red cedar (Thuja plicata).
At this point I briefly thought that perhaps this lady had more than one disability. We need trees. I’m the kind of guy who would gladly plant three more maples for her. I’m an ISA certified arborist; I love trees. I don’t remove them because they drop leaves. So, I told her to contact her strata council and let the office know.
Since I was on site to plant cedars (Thuja occidentalis), I couldn’t have done it anyway. And to be honest, I wouldn’t have removed it. It was a dumb idea and it left me shaking my head for the rest of the day.
Pause and think
Yes, I know, trees are removed all the time. Sometimes for valid reasons and sometimes just for cash. Occasionally, a tree removal request doesn’t make sense. Asking me to remove a tree because it’s dropping leaves on a neighbor’s patio is like asking a police officer to torch a church because the wood is old and weathered. Pause and think.
We need trees! They provide us with free ecosystem services, and they look great. Especially Japanese maples. I don’t care if the tree is spindly; it’s just reaching for light like most trees. If it gets removed one day, I won’t be the one doing it.
