While weeding in the garden the other day, I lost count of how many maple and European buckthorn seedlings were happily sprouting throughout the garden. I started to wonder what the garden would look like if I let them all grow. I could imagine myself walking down the cool shady path through a grove of young trees. Then practicality reared its ugly head: what would happen when the trees grew large enough that there was serious competition for nutrients and space? How much damage would the large root systems do to the foundation, the driveway, the retaining walls? How many bags of leaves would I have to rake and carry to the front of the house every fall? And the list of potential future woes just continued to grow nightmarishly long.
A garden filled with maple bonsai anyone?
2 comments:
I live along a river and the Silver Maples spread their winged helicopters everywhere. They do grow, but eventually die out,especially if I lay down the mulch before they land.
@Cathy: I guess nature does regulate its own eventually. The wilderness in the back needs direction next spring -- should I let the saplings grow? Should I exert an iron glove and weed & cull the shoots that come up? Do I want trees? Do I want perennials? Aurgh!!! The indecision will haunt me all winter...
/krys
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