We are all very engaged in our culture for it is the nature of human beings to gather together, invent games and engage in life as one people. Certainly we don’t always feel like one people, perhaps due to the competitive nature of the games we enjoy or alternately as some throwback feeling to when as tribes, competition meant separation and dominance.

All the games we have created are to aid us in bettering the quality of our lives, to move us beyond survival to an existence, or lifestyle as it were, in which survival assured. We can play at living life without worrying where our next meal comes from.

In essence, by inventing markers (money) that represent labor for food and comfort we have abstracted ourselves from survival and created a game where each individual has some opportunity to evolve themselves beyond scratching the earth or stalking creatures for food. Of course the problem with any abstraction is it is just that, a representation of what is real.

We being very imaginative, passionate and competitive beings have begun to believe that what is real is the game, how many markers do we have? How good are we at collecting them? Further, the more we believe the game is real, the more some of us, and I think we have all experienced this, have come to measure our success in enhancing life on this earth by how many markers we have and have lost touch with what truly nurtures life in the process.

Of course, the real source of energy on this mudball is the sun, and what captures sunlight most directly are plants; trees shrubs, perennials, etc. Not only are they the source of all food, but flora (plants) also engage in a key symbiotic relationship with fauna (animals-US) in which we breathe in each others waste gases and breathe out each others  life breath, Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide. This symbiotic relationship is deep and necessary and extends literally to every organic excretion. Our “waste” is their food and visa versa. Really, in nature there is no “waste” each excretion is necessary and used by another creature.

As creatures that both live in packs, or tribes, and engage in hive (city) building as well, we not only remove ourselves more and more from the source of life and life processes and become more engaged in our social games, but we actually become interruptions to the source itself. The balance between flora and fauna is somewhat precarious as a result of our believing the game is real and the real an illusion. In essence we have become willing to enhance our standing in the “game” at the expense of what is real because we live more in our own constructs than those of nature and so “naturally” what seems more important is our standing within our own constructs.

Gardens are an opportunity to welcome back a ray of reality. Rooftop gardens, parks, terraces, gardens around suburban homes, even plants within the home or office, are a means to refocus ourselves on the wider reality from which we are in fact sustained. Though at times, the gardens themselves are mistaken for pieces in the social games we have invented, their true value is to remind us of what is real, important, and truly sustains us; the sun (fire), water, earth, air, and the interconnectedness of all life (spirit).

Gardens are both a place where we as creative beings in whose hands the balance of the quality of life on earth is currently entrusted, can both express ourselves, and be more in touch with that which is real and must exist for the ongoing life of ourselves and our constructs. What plants we choose for our gardens, how much we choose to use these spaces as expressions of personal and ecological sustenance and/or as expressions of our standing within our culture/game, all make a tremendous difference both to the local ecology and how we and our children relate to nature. Remember, our primary survival relationship on this earth is with nature. The more complex and diverse this relationship, the more rich and certain our lives become.

So when approaching your garden this year, approach it with a new eye. The landscape around your home is more than dressing on a salad, or furniture in your living room, it is a primal connection to nature and in making it more complex, diverse, and honoring it, you are directly enhancing both yours and everyones relationship with that which makes our lives possible…and I don’t mean the stock market. Now is the time to make your landscape both a place that supports and enhances nature and your family as well as a place where you and your family can focus even if briefly, on the relationship that permits all of humanities constructs (physical and intellectual) to blossom and grow. If we are to continue to enrich our lives in the fullest sense of the word, this connection need be enhanced and sustained.

Large, Hardwood trees are the basis of a strong ecosystem and arguably the backbone of life on the planet. While it is true that there are ecosystems that function without trees at all, the bulk  of the carbon dioxide  to oxygen exchange done on the planet is performed by large trees, particularly in forested areas. In what we in the ecological restoration business have come to call the “built” environment-meaning where there are concentrations of humans-large trees become even more valuable in their roles as centers of biodiversity, absorbers of water, and anchors of the  shape of the land.

As I write this, power has been out in my area for a little over a week as a result of large trees collapsing on above ground power lines. Many of my neighbors are asking “is it really safe to have these trees so close to my home?” and given that many homes also have fallen prey to falling trees in the wake of recent hurricane winds, they are right to ask. In order to really answer the question, we must look beyond our own needs for “safety” and consistent delivery of power, and into the value of the trees and their care.

In his book “Bringing Nature Home” Professor Doug Tallamy makes a potent case for not only keeping large hardwood trees, but increasing their presence in the built environment. The built environment would be any area where there are more than one house per acre and where the presence of trees comes into question from a safety perspective. Professor Tallamy shows through scientific study that properties with large hardwood trees have greater biodiversity, more natural predators of insects that attack food crops and ornamentals, and therefore less need for human intervention in the form of chemicals. In a nutshell, properties with less large trees cost significantly more to maintain and properties with more large trees are ore self sustaining and less costly to care for over time.

Any realtor will tell you that properties with large trees and that are well landscaped have a ten twenty percent higher value than if the property had no trees. Additionally, these same trees that we are fearful of, shade our homes in the summer giving us energy savings, absorb as much as 35 gallons per week, reducing run off, and hold together the fabric of the landscape with their roots as well as nurture smaller trees and shrubs that they share space with.

One must wonder if it the cost is significant enough to justify loss of power and property damage, especially after a week with no power. These problems also can be avoided with proper care. The bulk of the trees coming down are those that are isolated, and either growing in between the sidewalk and the street, or are surrounded by lawn. What is it about these trees that makes them more susceptible to collapse?

In order for a tree to remain healthy and standing in the face of high winds, it must have a very healthy root system. Trees have very different water and soil needs than lawns for example and if large trees are grow in grassy areas, special care must be given to the roots in the form of deep root feeding and the maintenance of grass free zones around the base of the trees. Most trees growing in grassy areas are ignored by the homeowner-until they come down of course. If you have any of these, they are well worth saving, and consult with an arborist on preventative measures you can take now to preserve and enhance them. In addition to keeping grass away from at least some of the root zone, special attention should be given to the soil culture which should be rich in funghal activity

Trees growing near roads with sidewalks on the other side are also at risk, as they usually have difficulty establishing widespread root systems, There are measure that can be taken to allow these trees to spread their roots under sidewalks without compromising the integrity of the sidewalk and though somewhat costly, when the value of the tree is considered both in terms of real estate, and ecological value, the investment is worthwhile.

Lastly, looking a the extent of the damage to above ground wiring, and the growing cost of maintaining above ground wiring, one must truly question if it might not be worth it to bury power lines.The up front cost of burying power lines and cables may appear high, but high winds are becoming more and more frequent and the ROI on this investment appears to be shorter and shorter as a result.