We fantasized about building a tree house in one for the kids, or hanging a hammock between them for some summer afternoon lounging. They smell nice, create a great privacy screen between our yard and back neighbor’s home, and shade out the afternoon sun while we eat on the back deck. Plus, koala bears love them, and koala bears are cute, so therefore eucalyptus trees must be cute, right? Yes, this is my logic.
But after living here almost a year (has it really been that long?!) we’ve also discovered that their heavy shade prevents any other foliage from growing back there, they constantly drop leaves on the deck and all over the yard, and can sometimes smell like cat pee. We thought that having them professionally trimmed (they were definitely overdue for a cut) would help combat these issues…well, other than the cat pee thing…so we brought in some experts to give us a quote on the job. When the Mr. first called and said, “we have two large eucalyptus trees in our backyard,” the arborist said, “I have some advice. Move.” Not quite the response we were hoping for, and the fun continued when he came out to see them for himself and made the official recommendation to remove the trees completely. Ugh. He explained that not only are they messy, but eucalyptus trees are a fire hazard, and frequently fall in heavy storms.
So not only will we lose our shade and part of our fence (since it was built around the trees) but we’ll also be looking at a pretty high price tag for the work. Ah, the joys of homeownership. So, while we look for some better pricing options on the tree removal, I’m saying farewell to my hopes of a kitchen remodel and driveway gate this summer.
We're hoping we can find a way to save some of the wood and make some cool stools from the stumps to commemorate their presence and might post on Craigslist in case anyone wants to make use of the rest of the wood or the leaves, since I hate to just dispose of them. Feel free to claim a branch or two if you like!
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