19/08/2023
I hope you don’t mind, but as a passionate plant lover and professional horticulturalist I have to say something when I see damning, devastating work done to our little bit of greenery we have. So forgive me if I start to rant. It's just my passion getting the better of me.
As you know, we are trying to green up the 3 cities and I can’t handle watching it being mercilessly hacked away, does anyone feel the same?
Today I walked past another poor ficus tree that was pretty much cut in half, where there is loads of space for it to grow!!!
Apart from this looking really horrible, we are taking away some of the shade it provides, and let's not forget they provide us with oxygen and filter out our dirty car fumes, cutting a tree in half can destroy its balance and the tree could potentialy fall over. Hard pruning at the wrong time of year like now in mid summer can cause leaf scorch and make the tree look like its dying. Nearly all, if not most renovation works should be carried out in the winter periods.
At this time of year we should be enjoying the lushness that our plants, trees and bushes can offer, not hacking them back, very light trim maybe, but thats all, I feel sorry for the animals that use then as a habitat.
Away from the trees I thought I would add a picture of what happens, when you over trim a hedge in the mid summer sun, this is such a shame as this Lantana would have been in full flower by now. Let's hope it comes back to life in Autumn, ready to be hacked again, poor thing.
What can we do:-) !!
1. Often the council will only get asked to trim the trees, bushes by us locals, let's think before we ask, does it really need trimming? could it grow a little more or wait to winter.
2. There is a difference between a light trim and hacking. Is there something that need rescuing from being hacked down?
3. If you know of something you want to be left to grow, say! A few weeks ago we ran out to stop an Oleander being hacked back to a sad brown square shaped box, now it looks stunning in full flower as seen in the picture.
I hope you liked this information, all my friends and family that hear me rant on, say I should air this opinion, as people would like to know?
