Before we were ready to start work on our garden, we had a nasty Norway maple removed, but didn't really give much thought to the other trees on the property. All our attention and budget was focused on putting in the pond.
Almost thirty years later we're taking down what we hope is the last problem tree in the garden; the one that should have been removed first — before we did anything else.
The tree in question is a tall curving cherry tree on our side of the lot line. It was growing into a Tsuga canadensis, a Scots pine and a Stewartia. Mark's beautiful fence had been built around the tree's trunk and I had planted boxwoods and ferns at its foot.
That bulge on the cherry branch above is the arborist! I took these next shots of him with my phone from inside the house — the full depth of the back garden away from the work area.
I could hardly watch it made me so nervous. This was a very difficult tree to take down as big equipment could not be used and there were not a lot of big branches to work from.
There wasn't enough snow on the ground to cause the work to be postponed, but it was slippery as the snow has been melting and refreezing with an icy crust on top. Not the best surface for the other members of the team who were hauling piles of branches on the icy path.
It's always a shock to see how much comes off a tree that I barely noticed when walking under it or even looking at it while they were all busy working.
We had them cut the trunk at the same angle as the fence roof where we will just let it slowly fade away. You can't see from this photo, but everything around the cherry looked untouched. This crew was so careful lowering all the branches and chunks of wood through the other trees and around the boxwoods below.
Now our trees and the neighbor's Dawn Redwood can be seen without a dying monster in their midst.
More great work by Tree Health Management and Lundin Tree.
It is scary, but also great to watch true professionals at work! We sprung a leak in our guest bathroom, and the plumbers we hired were unlike many of the workers we've had in the past. It was great to observe how well and how quietly they communicated and you wouldn't even know they'd been in the house if we didn't have a hole in the ceiling.
Posted by: Kristin | Monday, February 07, 2022 at 07:55 AM
Oh, that would make me nervous, too! It sounds like you've been very wise with your tree decisions. It will be interesting to see your garden again with all the changes. :)
Posted by: Beth@PlantPostings | Monday, February 07, 2022 at 10:56 AM
KRISTIN — Always a thrill to find true professionals.
Posted by: Linda Brazill | Monday, February 07, 2022 at 11:18 AM
BETH — I think only the big maple that came down in December really left an empty space. That's along the front path that most people don't use. The trunk of this one makes it obvious, but that's the only way you would notice.
Posted by: Linda Brazill | Monday, February 07, 2022 at 11:20 AM
Congratulations on having that task behind you! I know how nerve-wracking it is to watch large trees like that come down.
Posted by: Kris P | Monday, February 07, 2022 at 12:21 PM
KRIS — It's nice to know that all the big problems have been taken care of and now it's just maintenance.
Posted by: Linda Brazill | Monday, February 07, 2022 at 12:55 PM
I wish I could find comparable tree specialists here!
ceci
Posted by: ceci | Monday, February 07, 2022 at 06:44 PM
What a fabulous way to deal with the tree stump in the fence issue, it looks wonderful!
Posted by: danger garden | Monday, February 07, 2022 at 10:09 PM
Glad it went well even though it was a little nerve wracking for you. Hindsight - it's so obvious afterwards that we wonder how we didn't see the problem or solution sooner.
Posted by: Barbara H. | Tuesday, February 08, 2022 at 12:27 AM