After a summer of valiant resistance, and 45 years of steady growth, my neighbour’s tree is near its end, as shown by the leaves above… Since the holes made all around the trunk did not seem enough, my neighbour’s gardener stripped most of the bark (see right picture). Very sad, considering that the tree was actually doing very well and was first cut based on the inexact assessment that it was hollow and threatening to fall… Now, my 94 neighbour also is afraid to fall when picking the leaves in her garden and she can hardly afford the hourly rates the gardener asks for picking the leaves himself. So I find it difficult to blame her, I should have instead proposed to pick the leaves!
As it happens, the tree survived the winter and grew new branches over the summer. It is not back to its former glory but new branches of 5m or so have grown from the trunk and hopefully will keep going over the coming years.
