Nurturing Your Inner Garden - Roxana Roshon, Naturotherapist, Ph.D.

Honour

Posted March 1, 2019

At the end of January, four mature ash trees were removed from our backyard. With the introduction of the Emerald Ash Borer, the expected lifespan of these trees in our city was greatly reduced. We chose to remove them in the winter so there was minimal damage to our understory.

A 12 to 20 foot stump remains from each of the trees to provide food for woodpeckers, other insectivorous birds, and wildlife. Plus we are keeping a couple of trunk lengths to turn into benches 

The morning that the arborist arrived, I chose to smudge each one of these beautiful trees and remember how they have been an important part of my life for 20 years. I walked in the snow with my bare feet at -8 ⁰C to be as connected to them and the earth as possible. I am grateful how they provided wonderful shade, beneficial oxygen, a home for wildlife and birds, and grounding for me and many others.

I honour and understand the cycle of life. Everything has a time and a place. As we said goodbye to our mature ash trees, we are also welcoming in more sunshine to support our understory trees – two Pawpawschestnutbutternutironwoodhoptree, and a Northern Pecan that Steve and I grew from seed. When the snow melts and the ground thaws, we are considering planting a Kentucky coffee-tree and a Redbud. As spring comes and these saplings are able to shoot up towards the light, we know that these new living beings in our backyard will be fulfilling their role in succession in our miniature forest ecosystem. 

With Honour!
Roxana