The lesson behind the old saying, “be careful what you wish for” – that you might get it and regret it – might also apply to, “be careful what you hire someone to do.”
After talking about it a long time, we finally got our tree people over to do some major work. We wanted more than just seasonal pruning; we wanted to clear out some trees and brush in the backyard that were limiting the growth of trees and plants we wanted to keep.
The work was significant enough that we walked the yard ahead of time and flagged what we wanted removed with purple ribbons. Then when the crew came to look at the proposed work and give an estimate, we walked with them just to make sure they understood. We didn’t want the favored pecans, oak and cedar to get cut down by mistake.
The tree crew spent half a day and did a great job. Gone is a cluster of three large hackberry and mulberry trees and lots of random laurels and brushy bushes of unknown variety that likely were planted decades ago by birds sitting on the wires above. Over time, those trees have grown up and over the wires, risking interruption of electrical service not just for ourselves but much of the neighborhood. They also were blocking out a young red oak and casting shade and stunting the growth of more desirable plants, including some we had planted such as leatherleaf mahonia.
As we walked the property after the crew left, we realized they had done more general cleanup than we envisioned. Because we don’t have a fence, we now have long lengths of vacant property line. We no longer have a hedgerow of wild saplings, shrubs and vines that created a visual and actual barrier between our backyard and the unpaved alley.
Now that the tree crew has done its work, we have lots of work to do ourselves. We know that much of what they cut down at the ground will come back because the roots are still there, so we’ll have to be ready to do more cutting ourselves when needed.
Another job we created for ourselves is spreading the mountain of mulch the tree crew left with us from all the cuttings because we asked them to. That’ll probably take a full day if not more with a wheel barrel, shovels and rakes.
On the other hand, we also have new opportunities. The large gaps in the landscaping provide a blank canvas on which to paint new colors and textures with plants. We can fill the gaps with new barrier plants of the size, shape and variety we want. We can create new beds on the ground with new plantings to replace the thorny junk that was there.
All that takes time and money, of course. It’s a lot of work. It’s work we created for ourselves by getting what we wanted. Regrets? No, not really. It’s the kind of work we like to do. We’ll just have to be careful and not try to do it all at once.