Deforestation By Design?

Deforestation By Design?. I see it every day, no matter where I am. I've been seeing it in one form or another for the past 20 years, probably longer, but I only recently realized it for what it was.

It's a simple concept, really. We all talk a good game when it comes to trees, sustainability, and nature, but do our actions square with our words? Far too often it ends up being "symbolism over substance". It's prevalent in all areas of society, from the front yard, to the architect's drawing, to the jobsite. We're designing our landscapes for guaranteed failure. And patting ourselves on the back for a job well done. This is simply unsustainable.

Part of me is sorry this may seem harsh, but sometimes feeling bad for doing something wrong - even sincerely wrong - is what's needed to cause the change we need. Part of me isn't sorry at all. I'm fed up having to cut down trees that were poorly planted. If I see another Callery Pear in a landscape design, I'm going to scream. We've known for decades that they start to tear apart as they get older and heavier, but we don't seem to care. I've had to repair damage to 3 of them this summer alone! Yet still we persist.

The above picture is a simple, and very common example of what I'm talking about. This is a homebuilder's idea of a good landscape. Can you spot the multiple problems?

1) The lovely Juniper is planted on the north side of the house. Junipers would be much better off in a lot of sun. Fungal problems are much more likely now. And a premature death.

2) See that white housing with the yellow wire? That's going to be an outdoor light. The problem is, that Juniper is going to grow to be about 10' tall. In a few short years (long after the builder has spent his profit from this project), that light will be obscured. Great planning...

3) Because of the mature height of that Juniper, it will actually reach the underside of the structure (the soffit) and gutters. What to do then? Either chop off the top of the Juniper (a lovely, horrific common practice that makes for less attractive and healthy trees and shrubs), or cut it down.

4) This Juniper has been planted about 16" from the brick foundation. At maturity, the Juniper will be at least 3' wide. What happens then. Just get out the trimmers and hack it away from the building. SMH...

This Juniper could live for decades in the right situation. Because of this ridiculous excuse for design (done by people who consider themselves "professionals"), I give this Juniper 5, maybe 8 years in this landscape, then it will be removed. If you're a homeowner simply doing your best, you will escape my wrath, but we still need to do better. It's the people who get paid money to do this that really irk me.

This is Deforestation By Design?. It's designing landscapes and plantings in violation of common sense, and healthy, well-understood horticultural and arboricultural practices, dooming it to a premature failure. It's a foolhardy practice that you can see in most yards, corporate campuses, schools, commercial properties, and cities. Sadly, the Landscape Architecture, Construction, and Building industries are responsible for much of this. It's wasteful and unsustainable. And it needs to stop.

We tell ourselves we're "helping the planet" when in reality, we're doing very little. If a tree could live for 50 or 75 or even a hundred years, but because of poor planting practices, it only lives 10 or 25 years, we're only helping salve our own consciences. We're simply forcing our children to have to repair the damage we've done, and we're losing the benefits that large trees could give us (8x more than small trees according to the US Forest Service).

Deforestation By Design?. It's the gift that keeps on giving... me ulcers.