Ten Minute Gardening

Our property is graced by two rather large poplars that tower over our two story Victorian house. These green giants bathe the garden in cooling shade. The wind rustling their leaves imitates the sound of gentle waves breaking the shore. If you close your eyes and picture a sparkling lake and sandy beach, the poplars and the wind will convince you that are resting at the shore’s edge. It is particularly soothing sound a day’s end when you are drifting off to sleep.

The poplars are home to numerous birds as they offer a safe refuge to nest and raise young. Birds add movement, sound and colour to the garden, as well the most natural of insect control. We encourage them to stay by providing them with water and food as well as many places to nest and to hide.

These trees shade the south side of our home helping to keep it cool even on the sunniest days. In the winter, when the trees are bare, the sun shines through the windows and help to warm up our home.

The poplars have been at the centre of many debates between Trevor and me since we moved here five years ago. Why? Because, they are poplars, and as trees go, weak. An ice storm or summer wind is sure to bring down numerous limbs and branches. So far, we have been fortunate and the falling limbs have never damaged anything except the lawn and some perennials. Poplars have shallow roots which sucker all over the yard, sprouting little poplar trees in the worst places. Removing the suckers is a constant of our gardening routine. We have yet to install a garden bed anywhere in the yard without having to chop away at poplar roots. These trees also drop sap onto our vehicles leaving little marks and stains that can only be removed with much elbow grease. These are the negatives of having large poplars in the yard and why Trevor the tree hugging landscaper/arborist argued that they should be removed.

Well, the last couple of years has brought a change of opinion for Trevor as he now understands why I fought so hard to keep the trees. He finally agrees that the positives these poplars bring to the yard far outweigh the negatives. Trevor now takes the time to trim the trees, removing weaker branches, or limbing them up in an effort to keep them healthy and safer, and around for many more years. He still complains about the sap dripping onto the vehicles, but has come to accept that it is one of those quirks of nature at work.