Gardening with Margaret Matthews
Trees: the beauty and the terror
by Margaret Matthews
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewelled sea,
Her beauty and her terror,
The wide brown land for me.
— Dorothea Mackellar, My Country
In summer we appreciate not only the beauty, but the shade and shelter of trees. In our gardens, the grey-green leaves of our native trees blend with the varying greens of exotic species. In most suburban areas trees are rightly considered to make a positive contribution to the environment, and homeowners are encouraged not only to plant trees on their properties, but to enjoy and respect the trees in streets and parkland.
In established suburbs, with a large population and at a distance from the fringes of the green belt which surrounds many of our cities, trees pose no threat if the right species is chosen and the right position selected. Yet, each year, as summer approaches and the suburban sprawl edges closer to the national parks and native forests, the perennial issue of living in fire-prone areas is revived again.
There is no more terrifying sight than a bushfire out of control. Even on our TV screens it is frightening, but experiencing this at first hand would never be forgotten. The lives of fire fighters, many of them volunteers, are put at risk of injury or death each time they are called into action. I am writing this on the day the finding of the inquest into the five Victorian volunteer firefighters who perished in the 1999 fires was handed down, and as the devastating fires of NSW continue. Even if lives are not lost, the damage to the environment and the destruction of flora and fauna is impossible to assess.
After the fires, as always, many questions will be asked and not all will be answered, although perhaps something positive is learned each time disaster strikes. Should fire breaks be inspected more frequently? Should home owners be fined if they fail to observe the basic rules of keeping gutters cleared, dry branches, leaves and other little cleared regularly from around the house and taps and hoses checked frequently? Often branches overhang the house and outbuildings may contain inflammable household items. Living on private property close to the bush requires that owners act responsibly, as it is not only their own lives and property that are at risk. Choosing to live in the bush should make one especially sensitive to the environment. Indeed, one would think it the prime reason for living there.
Australian eucalypts are extremely fire prone because of their high oil content, but there are some positives that occur from this. Eucalypts rejuvenate rapidly. Within a few days of the current NSW fires, green shoots were appearing. The seeds of wattles (acacias) need neat to germinate and as they are short-lived a bushfire results in a new generation of young plants. Long before European settlement the Aborigines knew the need for controlled periodic burning of the bush, but they had no need to concern themselves with the white man’s dream of a permanent house and land (and probably a mortgage!) and the reliance on the infrastructure of a fire fighting organisation.
Trees are a precious resource. They are an essential part of the environment and are under threat in all parts of the world. We are have all seen the ruthless felling of rain forests in many countries, including Asia and South America, the barren, drought and war ravaged deserts of Afghanistan and, in our own country, the ghosts of the once mighty river gums in the saline-affected soil of the Murray River basin. All these disasters are man-made.
We can all plant and enjoy trees in our gardens, but we should take care that the species we choose are right for the situation we have in mind. We should not plant large trees close to the house, or where they will overhang gutters or roofs. We should check on the eventual height and breadth of the plant and remember that tiny tree in a nursery can grow to a towering giant. Ruthless pruning of a tree that outgrows its situation destroys the beauty and form of a tree, and it is much better to ask the questions before than after planting.
Perhaps there will always be a price to pay if we wish to preserve and protect our precious native forests, our animal and bird life, our homes and gardens, but we need to learn how to achieve this without sacrificing the lives of these brave men who are always at hand when fire threatens. They would probably agree with Dorothea Mackellar:
Core of my heart, my country.
Land of the rainbow gold.
For flood and fire and famine
She pays us back, threefold.
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