Right Plant, Right Place

This big live oak tree went way beyond serving an aesthetic purpose in the landscape.

It's easy to take for granted all the things plants and trees do for us on a daily basis. But there are times when their value goes beyond mere aesthetics, the food and safe harbor they provide for multitudes of creatures, the mini microclimates they can create, and-- not to mention -- the very air we breathe.

The other night, I was watching TV with my wife when the quiet of a mild evening was broken by the sound of locked-up brakes trying their best to halt whatever was doing the hauling. Now, this kind of noise isn't unusual around where we live. We have some fairly heavy traveled thoroughfares in relatively close proximity. Seconds-long screeches normally result in silence that signifies a near-miss event. The jolting thud that put the period on the end of this screeching sentence was the exception. My wife and I gave a look to each other that said without words, 'that didn't sound good.'

About 20 minutes later, I stepped outside and noticed a plume of smoke wafting over my neighbor's house across the street. Man, just how close was this crash? In the next few minutes, I found out the answer to that question: very close.

After spotting the reflection of flashing lights on a window down the street, I walked down to the end of my street and around the corner to see 4 fire trucks, several police cars, and at least two dozen onlookers (most of them my neighbors) watching rescue personnel flanking a pickup that veered across the road, over a grass median and sidewalk, plowed through a wood fence, mangled part of a chain-link fence behind it, and finally came to a rest at the base of a large live oak tree.

Perhaps it was the fumes of the dieseling fire/rescue trucks starting to get to me while we were watching the top being cut off the vehicle, but a thought crossed my mind that if the big oak tree wasn't there, this accident scene could be a lot worse. Beyond the fences and tree was the back yard of one of my neighbor's where patio furniture and a lanai were next in the path.

The tree -- which by the sheer size of it probably has been there about 40 years --looked no worse for wear considering it just took on about two tons of hurtling metal. Amazing and scary as we all stood in shock and awe for more than an hour as the driver was carefully extracted from the vehicle. The other amazing thing was that the driver was alive.

In Florida, "Right Plant, Right Place" is a big mantra in defining the textbook Florida friendly yard. In this case, that couldn't have been more true.