Garden Topics:
9 Reasons to Plant Trees
“He who plants trees
loves
others beside himself.”
-Thomas Fuller
Trees are most often planted for shade and beauty, but they
serve us in many more ways. They define the landscape, providing
a sense of scale and creating the bones of the garden. They help
to blend the home into the surrounding scenery so that the home
is nestled into the landscape, rather than just sitting upon it.
Other benefits include:
1. SOCIAL VALUE
Trees make life more pleasant. We respond to the presence of
trees beyond simply observing their beauty. We feel serene,
peaceful, restful, and tranquil when among trees. The stature,
strength, and endurance of trees give them a cathedral-like
quality. Because of their potential for long life, trees
frequently are planted as living memorials. We often become
personally attached to trees that we or those we love have
planted.
2. ATTRACT WILDLIFE
Leafy canopies supply birds, butterflies, insects, and
squirrels with food and shelter. The insects are food for
chickadees, kinglets, and ladybugs, while squirrels and
woodpeckers love seeds, nuts, and apples. Bees and butterflies
gather pollen, and sip nectar from many varieties.
3. ADD PRIVACY
As lot sizes shrink, backyards and patios, which serve as
personal sanctuaries, become more important to our sense of
well-being. Trees (or shrubs for that matter) provide for that—a
row of plants along a property line gives you a sense of wooded
enclosure without making your property feel too hemmed in.
4. FRESHEN THE AIR
Trees remove nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone,
carbon monoxide, and small particulates from the air. Their
shade cools the air enough to reduce smog levels by up to 6
percent.
5. HELP MANAGE RUNOFF
When rain falls on a tree, part of the water is absorbed by
leaves; the rest evaporates or drips to the ground over a period
of minutes or hours. This delay gives the soil more time to
absorb the rainfall and recharge the groundwater, so there's
less runoff and erosion to choke and pollute streams. Where
trees border creeks and rivers, overarching branches cool the
water for stream wildlife.
6. REDUCE CARBON
Trees breathe it in, use the carbon to build mass (half of a
tree's dry weight is carbon), then exhale oxygen. On balance,
they retain more carbon than they lose. So every tree you plant
helps reduce your carbon footprint.
7. SAVE
ENERGY
Deciduous trees, positioned to shade the house on hot summer
days when their leaves block the sun, also warm the house in
winter by letting the sun pass through their leafless branches.
Such natural cooling and heating helps conserve electricity and
can save you money. How much depends on the way your house is
built, but energy savings generally range from 8 percent to 12
percent for a single 25-foot-tall tree to more than 25 percent
for multiple well-placed trees.
8. INCREASE HOME
VALUE
According to some studies, planting trees can increase the
value of your home by about 7 percent. (10 percent for large
trees in high-income neighborhoods).
9. PROVIDE A
WINDBREAK
Homes sheltered by evergreens are warmer in the winter months
than those that are not. Typically, evergreen trees should be
placed so as to block the winter northwest winds. Evergreen
trees can also provide noise reduction.
The Fall Season
is the perfect time to plant, so don’t delay. The climatic
conditions are perfect, and many trees are discounted here at
summer’s end.
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