Trees And Homes - Every Tree For Its Use
We rate a tree in a forest as potential lumber according to the texture of its wood and clean bole, its rapidity of growth, market value, and availability. City trees have price tags on them, of course (perhaps as much as $20 per inch of trunk diameter), but we appraise them largely on intangible values of shade and beauty. We judge the city tree by the shape of its canopy, its habit of growing tall and slender or small and spreading, its spring bloom or fall color, the shape and size of its leaves, and its evergreen or deciduous nature. Important, too, is whether it has any tendency to break in storms, whether it is a clean tree or a dirty one, its susceptibility to insect pests and disease, and its ability to adapt itself to the artificial conditions of cities.
No single item distinguishes a city more than its green areas, and probably our first reaction to a community is to its abundance or lack of trees. The shade they give from the sun makes the summer heat more tolerable, and filters for grateful eyes the dazzling reflection from masonry and concrete. A city of monumental buildings, like Washington, particularly needs trees to interrupt the reflected light. The landscape architect uses trees to soften hard building lines and accentuate vertical or horzontal details.
The home owner plants trees to give scale and proportion to desired features and to delight his family and neighbors with spring bloom and fragrance, green coolness in summer, color in autumn, and interesting branch-and-twig patterns in winter.
Trees form vistas, frame views, and define park areas. They can screen out undesirable sights, and separate active from passive recreation. They border our city lakes and streams and cast their reflections in our pools. Groups of trees are a back drop, a cyclorama.
A city of monumental buildings, like Washington, particularly needs trees
