PSA: The time I had to pick between saving my old oak tree or a new garden bed

About five years back, a huge limb from the old oak in my yard came down in a storm. The arborist from Greenleaf said the whole tree was getting risky and quoted me $2,800 to take it down. My wife really wanted that sunny spot for a big vegetable garden she'd been planning for ages. So it was either spend the cash to remove the old giant and get that garden, or spend even more to try and save the tree with cabling and major pruning. I chose the tree. It cost over $1,500 just for the surgery on it, and we had to put the garden plans on hold for two more years until we cleared another spot. Looking at it now, with all its leaves, I'm glad we kept it, even if we ate fewer tomatoes. Has anyone else had to make a tough call like that with a mature plant on their property?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameronp472mo ago

Honestly that's a lot of money for a tree that could still fall later.

claire_grant342mo ago

My neighbor had a huge willow that was dropping branches on their shed every winter. They spent like a grand just trimming it back one year, then a big storm took out half of it anyway. They ended up removing it last fall and said it was the biggest relief, even though the yard looks totally different now.

river9522mo ago

Totally get that feeling. We had this massive maple in the front that was starting to lift the sidewalk. The city said we had to deal with it, and removal was the cheaper, faster option. Felt like losing a family member, honestly. We spent way more to save it with a root barrier and it's still there, shading the whole house. No regrets, even with the bigger bill.