Maple trees

Many times when we think to landscape, we’re working with plants and trees that are of a certain size and not much thought is given to what they will grow to be. The maple trees that were planted in this court yard were small , maybe 10 ft. tall without much width.

But give them 10 years or more of growth, they start to become what a tree will be, large with a big spread and only will grow larger. Many of the other plants in the court yard started to decline for what once was a sunny location, now was pretty much shaded most of the time.

New homes were built on the hill (where this picture was taken from) and this was their view scape of the Great Bay, where the Lamprey river flows in.
There was much discussion about the problem and finally the trees were removed. New trees were installed, ones that would never get as big as the ones that were removed (could be no higher than the height of the roof) and the other plants that had survive had a better chance to thrive.

So the moral is when we are planting trees and some large shrubs is consider what they are going grow into rather than what size they are as you plant it. For in the long run are you going to lose a pleasant view as you look out your window?