Bees & Trees

I apologize for the long absence of posts. Other than the typical "wow, I've been busy", I was having all kinds of login issues with blogger and was finally able to login again! That being said - it is the height of summer and the trees in my yard are all blooming! I have two large trees in the middle of my backyard that shade everything. I find this to be a really good thing as my yard is considerably cooler on a hot day than you might expect - combine that with a covered patio with a ceiling fan and I can enjoy my yard on even the hottest days - like today!

Since we moved here just over two years ago, I have been trying to figure out what these trees actually are. I've searched online, in my Western Garden Book, asked everyone who has come to my house and nobody knew. I see these trees all over Roseville so it was surprising that I couldn't figure it out. Finally, my mom and I were on a garden tour back in May where I cornered a Master Gardener to figure out the mystery and she groaned when I described it to her (never good!) It turns out I have two Chinese Tallow Trees - messy (I already knew that) and incredibly invasive (what!?!)

Upon returning home, I googled this tree and immediately learned why I couldn't find it in any of my landscape tree research - it is on the Red Alert List for the Invasive Plant Council of California. Great. Why would these trees even be available for homeowners to buy? And why would they have been planted in parks around the city?

Now that I know what I'm dealing with, I'm sure these trees will have to go at some point, but in the meanwhile, is it so bad to enjoy the benefits the trees do provide? First of all, I love the shade and second, in the middle of summer, the bees LOVE the (messy) flowers. For weeks every summer, bees descend on these trees and cover them so completely that the entire yard has one big BUZZ you can hear all over the yard - even in the garage! Seeing as how everyone is worried about the disappearance of the honey bee - I feel like I'm doing my part to keep them alive. If anyone is looking for them, there are thousands hanging out here on Lathwell. Furthermore, the leaves put on a brilliant show of color in the fall and the seed pods are enjoyed by the birds all winter. We do have to deal with the mess of the seed pods in the grass, but I get to enjoy watching the birds out my upstairs bedroom window all winter when the leaves are gone.

I wouldn't want to say so many nice things about these trees that someone would be convinced to plant one - the root system is shallow, the flowers and seed pods are messy and you do find new little trees everywhere that need to be pulled, but at this point, the benefits outweigh the grief. My only worry is what I will replace them with when they do eventually have to go.....