One of the most amazing aspects of indigenous vegetation, be it grass, flowers or trees, is the way even the most hopeless looking environments can bounce back after a little rain. Last summer most of the indigenous trees looked like desiccated spectrals of their former selves. I thought we had lost them … until the first rain of only a few millimetres arrived. Our garden trees – all indigenous – now show an amazing variety of hues of green. Their foliage is thick, buds are swelling and we can look forward to a variety of blossoms. Exotic trees do not have the same tenacity. This Brazilian Pepper tree has shrivelled over the past year, lost its leaves, and has finally given up.
It is one of the trees planted along the street in front of our home. In its heyday it would have looked like this:
All of these trees are stunted thanks to the hard clay soil that is unkind to their roots – and they were never watered, even when planted as tender saplings. It has taken over thirty years for them to reach the height they are, which is relatively short when compared with others planted in more favourable positions in town. While they are not my favourite trees, I have always had an empathy for the way they have had to struggle to survive. It is thus sad to see this one finally succumb to a drought that has lasted too long. It is gradually falling apart:
Something Over Tea 
Dis nou ń interessante stuk skryfwerk, Anne. Jy prikkel gereeld my nuuskierigheid.😉
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Dankie Una, dit is baie gaaf van jou 🙂
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Poignant! I feel saddened now, too.
You are so fortunate having that wonderful open vista in front of your home.
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When the municipality had the tall Eucalypts removed, to their credit they replaced them by planting a number of indigenous trees instead. Sadly, the Urban Herd of cattle have chomped them all!
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So true. It even happens in my yard without the rain.
Something foreign is always popping up. 😦
I’ve just learned to live with the surprises.
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I enjoy bonus plants that arrive – mostly via birds I suspect.
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Our gems come from the deer who think our front and backyard are super highways. Where they go or where they come from I don’t know, but we seem to be a rest stop on the way. And you know what rest stops are for. ;(
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A cautionary tale about planting non-native species. BP trees are invasive in Florida, where they thrive in the tropical warmth. Officials are trying desperately to eliminate them at great cost.
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These, and other exotic trees, were once favoured as ‘street’ trees – probably because they were fast-growing and provided attractive flowers and / or berries. Fortunately, indigenous trees are in favour now, so newer suburbs are graced with them, which should be better for the environment over all.
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Yes, a sad story. After reading your description, I was struck by how challenging it can be for an area to support life. Maine has its own challenges—primarily extreme cold in the winter and a short growing season. But mostly we have enough rain. Until last summer, when we actually had a drought. Unusual for us, but then this has been an unusual year.
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There is no question that this has been an unusual year. Apart from the pandemic, the weather has been topsy-turvy everywhere. Normally I wouldn’t expect to don a jacket on a December evening – I would more likely to be cooling off in our swimming pool! It is all very strange indeed.
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It is always sad to say goodbye to a tree.
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I agree with you wholeheartedly.
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On the other hand it’s a real gift to live in a place long enough to see the trees grow up over the decades, even when you finally see them succumb in the end.
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Having moved around the country fairly often in my youth, it is glorious to do just that. We admire the tall forest of trees that have grown in our garden and still remember planting them as saplings …
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It’s always a shame to see a tree die. I hope that more municipalities now choose indigenous varieties that adapt so much better to local conditions.
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I think the swing away from fast-growing exotic trees is well in motion. Even though they tend to be slow growing, they probably require less long-term maintenance too.
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Always fascinates me the way Nature keeps its balance.
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Me too. There is a lesson there about not giving up too soon.
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We only have to leave a pot unwatered for a day in the summer to see the truth of this post – and that is on a much smaller scale
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Gosh, I wouldn’t have thought your summer sun would be that harsh. Mind you, I was last in England sixteen years ago!
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It depends where you are, even in England, Anne, as I’m sure you know
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