If a tree is dangerous

then something must be done about it.

There is yet another story in this morning's paper about a tree which needs to be removed. It is a "sugar gum". It is the sort of tree which should never be planted on a  suburban block.

I know it is very likely that the person who chose it and planted it all those years had no idea of the problems it would cause in the future. Even now some people will say that a tree dropping fifty kilo limbs is not a problem, that the tree should be left where it is and that we should learn to live with it. This will be so even though someone lost his life just before Christmas - because of a similar tree.

Nor is it good enough to suggest that those who live on the property should simply be required to pay an extortionate sum each year to keep the tree trimmed. That is not the answer.

There are people I know who say that "only natives" should be planted. They often have dry, untidy looking "gardens" which they claim "save water" and "encourage wildlife, particularly the birds". (They also tend to hate cats.) In this they are mistaken. Their gardens are not like natural bushland. Their gardens feed off other gardens around them. 

Our garden has no big gum trees or indeed anything other than a small native tree on one side. It was there before the house was built and we knew it was not going to get any bigger.  It is reaching the end of its natural life but we will keep it as long as we can even though it is far from beautiful to look at. There is a fucshia which curls around it. That is good to look at - and the birds like it.

The rest of our garden has apples, lemons, a cumquat, peach, plum, nectarine, apricot, avocado. Some of them don't produce much fruit for us but we also have an abundance of happy wildlife. "There's food at that house!" they tell one another.  The wandering cats don't seem to bother them. I have yet to see any healthy bird killed by a cat - although I have seen Pluto tearing down the street with a rat in his mouth. That happened after they cleared the rubbish from the back garden of a property further down the street.

But the idea that "only natives" should get planted and that we should "learn to live with" giant gum trees is surely wrong. Giant gum trees and houses are simply a dangerous combination. Gums, and there are many varieties, have their own special needs. The urban environment does not suit them. I know those great red river gums look magnificent but I would never plant one. Even if it survived it would be a constant danger to the surrounding properties. 

Being required to keep a gum tree simply because it is a native tree is ridiculous. Local councils have often been badly advised in this respect. I once knew someone, now deceased, who taught landscaping at the university. He was a "natives" man. His own "garden" not far from here was filled with native plants. To me, and many others, it looked a mess but he was very proud of it. 

The people who have taken over the house are very pleasant. It has taken them some years to get the front garden into some sort of shape. 

"We thought it just looked untidy at first," M.... told me not so long ago, "We might have kept it if it had been low maintenance and the birds came in but they didn't."

It was not low maintenance at all. Her husband R... was out there all the time as things needed to be done. It was hard to water - and  yes, native gardens do need watering in urban environments. The birds were not coming in as they expected. 

They are still working on it. There is their back garden still to go although M... can now put washing on the line. They want to be able to use the rainwater tank for more than the garden but they need to be rid of a tree overhanging it before that can happen. 

Yesterday though, as I was pedalling over to see the Senior Cat, I saw R... standing quite still watching the birds in their garden. He's a quiet and rather shy man but I have noticed more than once that the birds seem to go close to him. It is almost as if they know that he has changed the garden so that there is food there for them. 

Some people in their street were horrified when they took out a gum. It was still just small enough to be removed without permission. The attitude has changed though. Their neighbours now realise that the birds are back and there are other advantages.

Gums are lovely but they aren't right for every location. If they start to drop limbs that is a warning that the tree is struggling in that environment. Put something else in instead. The birds will appreciate it.