MOVING MOUNTAINS (of leaves)

Any of you who have ever visited the Wyatt manse here know that we live in the midst of a park-like setting. One of the most noticable features of our own place, and of the neighbors in each direction, is the abundance of trees of all sorts and sizes. Twenty-one years ago when we bought this lot, it actually looked rather bare, and the few trees that had already been planted were thought to be important, so we preserved and protected and watered and nourished each one carefully. As things turned out, I might have been wiser to have taken out those few original trees and to have installed a more carefully planned landscaping.

Five of the original trees were pinus negra (Austrian Pine) which have turned out to be a perpetual nuisance by continously dropping dead needles and thousands of small, dense, green cones that are tough on the feet and hard on lawnmower blades. Collectively, I must rake, stack, and discard dozens of yards of debris annually from these trees alone. There were also two blue spruce trees, and a couple of other conifers along the small lane that serves as our private street. Each of these has a "shedding season" and requires a few weeks of clean up each fall. In the center of the lawn on each side of the driveway, and spaced to serve as focus trees at maturity, the first owner had planted Thundercloud flowering cherry trees. Now mature, these prolific giants also drop vast carpets of large yellow leaves each fall. AArrrgggghhhh!!!

Among other tree feature that came with this property were four groups of hybrid Lombardy poplar, of a type frequently raised as rapid growing, soft-wood pulp trees and used to make paper products. These are tall (up to 90 feet) wonderful shade trees in spring, summer, and early fall, but then they drop their plate size leaves and completely bury the lawn surface. Start to finish it took over two months to rake up or mow up that crop this year. Worse than that, these trees grow so fast that they exhaust themselves in twenty years to twenty-five years and begin to die. Next spring I will have to drop about half of the remaining trunks because of the hazard they have become. Sadly, I did not know in the late eightys that both the Lombardy poplar and the Austrian Pines are considered to be the weeds of the tree world. I'm convinced (for several reasons) they wwere selected because they were cheap (or free).

Of course, I did not know what lay ahead when we were still settling in and all those tiny, young trees seemed to offer such promise. So, in my early enthusiasm, during the next few years of living here, I planted approximately another twenty-two deciduous trees in the yard surrounding the house, and eight more evergreens, and a host of shrubs to go with the existing rhododendrons . To top it all off, I put in a "gentleman's orchard" on the eastern portion of our 1.25 acre lot, totalling twenty-seven trees at first, plus a row of 15 shore pines at the eastern property line to become a windbreak against cold winter gusts out of the gorge, and to top it off, a row of grapes.

There is always a price to pay for nice things, and trees and large shrubs are no exception. This year I have been raking and mowing steadily since late September just to keep the lawn in sight so the accumulation of leaves do not, in fact, kill the grass. This fall season has been much drier than usual, and until this week much warmer than in most years, so the leaf drop has been spread out and there has been opportunity to keep up with the process. On the other hand, mild days so late into the fall gave us one of the most colorful autumn season's we have ever experienced anywhere. Nevertheless, eventually the leaves began to drop, and drop... and drop... When a day or two of genuine frost finally occured, the rest of the canopy soon hit the deck too. Maples, Gincko, Zelcova, crabapple, dogwood, and Goldenchain - all the rest shed themselves bare.

In the past few seasons, getting rid of leaves in such great volumes has become a major headache. The yard debris businesses have become too expensive to use. A friend's burn pile is on a slope too wet to negotiate. But fortunately this year, Betty happened to notice an ad by a man who wanted all the leaves he could collect. He is composting them to make a base for his worm business, and best of all, he lives not far away from us. Doug has received either eight or nine well-packed trailer loads of leaves so far, and I still have five large compost piles left of my own. Patty has been taking a pile each spring for her garden, so I will still have a surplus come springtime.

Happily, the rest of pre-winter yard chores are nearly complete now. All this year's heavy pruning is finally done, the well-head is boxed and insulated, After a little trimming on a pair of hedges and some cutting back of the neighbor's privet which is growing through the chainlink fence and most of the list will be finished. I still have a little firewood chop, but I'm putting that off until Geoffrey arrives because I know how much he enjoys splitting dry douglas fir. It's even stacked right beside the wood box so it won't have to be hauled at all. About one afternoon of cleaning the rings and beds under the pines, and we can let the rest go for this year. With at least one more week of mild weather in the forcast, I'm beginning to see the end at last.

When you drop by to visit, enjoy the yard and the parkland ambiance. In late spring the crabapple and dogwood take turns blooming in splendor. After summer, maples and dogwoods lend brillance to the autumn sunlight. In late summer, apples, asian and domestic pears, plums, and in good years, cherries make a walk in the "out-back" a tasty experience. In fact, something catches the eye all year long. I can understand why both Eden and Heaven itself are often described as "gardens" for a groves of trees are beautiful and peaceful places to linger and be refreshed. Just keep in mind, when deciding to plant your own trees of any sort, the "no free lunch" maxim applies. Plan ahead, do your homework, and don't be greedy.. Too much of a good thing is by definition not really a good thing.