Trees in the City
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| In desert regions people congregate around oases and
waterways, planting shade trees left and right. In Seattle's pioneer era, settlers
were forced to fell the unbroken forest in order to enjoy such amenities
of civilization as roads, buildings, sewers, orchards and gardens. Trees
were converted into lumber, street pavers, piers, and telephone poles for
what Chief Seattle called "talking wires." Trees were also our main export
cash crop. So it was a logical farewell to the forest; hello to the big city
and bright lights. |
| Seattle transformed itself from just another backwater "forest
primeval" --a dripping wet soft green wilderness-- into a heavyweight,
hard-edged, gray-tinted city with puddles beyond telling. But since the
1970s our dawning awareness of a need to
balance all facets of the urban matrix has caused a shift in emphasisand much arguing as well. Trees are
right in the middle of the controversy. |
| Trees cause problems as well as affording beauty, clean air, and
their myriad environmental benefits. They buckle sidewalks, grow into
wires, block views, intercept light, drop leaves and fruits, attract bugs and
rats, shed limbs, and often blow down. Is it any wonder that dozens
of companies specialize in tree removal and not one in tree planting? |
| But for all the trouble they cause, trees do more good than bad.
Just visualize Seattle with no trees at all, and think how ugly the place
would be. Imagine the unbroken wind. Summers would be hotter and
drier. More slides would occur, more flooding. The air would be less
fragrant, more acrid. Wildlife and associated plants would be hurt. Seattle
would be hellish, and be looked upon with pity by cities elsewhere.
Fortunately for tree-huggers, trees have never had so many friends. Local trees
benefit from PlantAmnesty, TREEmendous Seattle, Tree Stewards, the
Arboretum Foundation, and many smaller associations. |
| Next time someone complains about trees, keep in mind not only
the individual situation, but the big picture and the long run. The
average Seattle resident probably stays at any one location for less than 10
years. Many trees here live for more than a human lifespan. A tree can
simultaneously block your view of the mountains, while being the most
attractive landmark in the neighborhood. |
| To call trees "attractive" is to damn with faint praise. Trees,
unlike buildings, streets or cars, present seasonal changes, being living
calendars that dramatically unfold their celebration of life, from the day
they sprout as tiny seedlings to the day they die. When the most beautiful
and thriving trees coexist near noble buildings, it results in a powerful
union of natural and human forces. Call it synergy, or the potency of
vivid contrast, but regardless of our terminology or explanation, the sum
is glorious to behold. Since most tree plantings and architecture are
unremarkable, the few instances where both elements do match
perfectly become all the more precious. |
Let's single out a few superb examples of trees and buildings.
These tend to make everyone happy because you'll either like the trees or
the buildings, if not both. Such combinations vary much in their ability
to uplift viewers. For how people perceive beauty is determined both by
our state of mind or receptivity, and by external phenomena, and
both fluctuate. For example, happiness is your lot if you're in love, a full
moon illuminates the sky, and soothing quiet surrounds you. On the
other hand, suppose you're cranky, running late, it's raining, and a gang
of teenagers are screaming obscenities nearby. You get the picture. So
when your mood is right, immerse yourself in whatever comforting
associations or beauty you hunger for. Contemplating favorite trees,
gardens, views, or other natural features can rest one's mind from its
normal obsession with human matters, and help tilt our perspectives to a
broader balance.
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| Seattle's best known example of a superb blend of fine architecture
and trees may be the Yoshino cherries of the U.W. campus liberal
arts quadrangle. The neo-Gothic motif brick buildings provide
dignity, formal structure and an air of enduring timelessness. The trees
lend seasonal delineation, informality, the excitement of life, and an
annual floral display in March or April which elevates everyone wonderfully.
If the trees were gone the quad would seem a desolate expanse of lawn.
If the buildings were modern dark glass boxes, no number of trees
would win people over. The existing conditions provide a rare match that
raises eyebrows and earns widespread admiration. The buildings were
constructed between 1917 and 1950; the trees were moved from the
arboretum to the campus when the Evergreen Point floating bridge was built in the early 1960s. |
| Next go look at the trees around Holy Names Academy on
Capitol Hill (21st Ave E, south of E Aloha St). Although the street-tree elms
are heartening, I prefer the dark, majestic Atlas cedar dominating the
front lawn. The way its roots grip the earth is especially fascinating.
Among Seattle's largest at some 100 feet in height, it probably dates, like
the school, from 1910. Gaze upon that noble tree and its
monumental, domed building, and tingle with good feelings. |
Atlas Cedar at Holy Names; photo by ALJ
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| For a far less institutional building that nestles cozily among
great trees, consider a charming stone cottage, on Lake Washington
Boulevard in the arboretum, close to Madison street. As the boulevard gently
slopes and curves north from Madison, it is lined with shade trees planted in
the fall of 1907. They are 22 English oaks, 8 hybrid planes (also
called sycamores), 3 Oriental planes, 2 Turkish oaks, and 1 cypress oak.
These trees, some now more than 100 feet tall, are among the very first called
for by the Olmsted Brothers landscape architects, in their plan for
Lake Washington Boulevard --which predated the arboretum by decades. |
| In 1936-37 the stone cottage was built with WPA labor, one of
many valuable projects done during the Great Depression years. The
cottage features massive stones and algae-coated timbers, some light touches
of concrete, a patina copper roof, and glazed windows. Except for
the discordant unnaturally bright green plastic sign on its door, and
an occasional motorcycle marring its front porch, it is wholly evocative
of much earlier times. It recalls fairy tales --Hänsel and Gretel could
live here. The trees and other plants frame it perfectly. Numerous ferns
grow among mossy boulders and leggy rhododendrons. |
These three examples I've just highlighted in this article could
be multiplied. Entire blocks boast architecture and street-trees uniting
to form a continuous delight. Be glad to live in a region rich with
diversity of trees and built structures; revel in your own favorites. Think
twice before you give a tree the kiss of death.
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(originally published in The Seattle Weekly, November 1996)
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