Another photo from my wander along Edgware Road the other day. I love these stately old blocks of flats on a side street. I looked them up on Zoopla just now and they are quite swank -- one sold for £2.25 million a year ago, and another (slightly smaller) for £1.5 million the previous November. They're pretty big, too -- four bedrooms!
I woke to some possibly unwelcome news this morning. I say possibly because I'm still weighing what it will mean. The tree surgeon has been instructed to remove our fallen limb and cut the rest of the elder tree down to 20 feet (which is about as tall as it is already, I think) as well as to cut the ivy so that it dies in the upper parts of both trees. I'm happy with the limb removal but I hate to have all that dead ivy hanging there. I hope the tree guy can remove some of it so it's not so unsightly. Or maybe that will be left up to me.
On the bright side, I guess any squirrels or birds with nests in that ivy can continue to live there, unless the fact that it's dead puts them off.
I'm not going to fight it too much, but I may ask a few questions.
That does seem odd instructions...a few questions are definitely in order
ReplyDeleteDefinitely.
DeleteI suppose cutting the ivy to kill it will prevent rhe weight of it causing the tree to fall. We had to do that on one of our very large trees. P did manage to cut away most of the dead stuff after it had turned to sticks but it was not an easy task.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's a thought -- I suppose living ivy weighs a lot more than dead, dry ivy.
DeleteIt seems that Ivy has a mission to take over the world...wherever you go trees are smothered in it! I am sure it wasn't like that in my childhood.
ReplyDeleteMaybe people were more attentive gardeners back then!
DeleteProperty prices in desirable areas in London are insane.
ReplyDeleteBest I think, is to not allow ivy to climb trees.
Easier said than done!
DeleteThat is the recognised way to deal with ivy, either when it is climbing trees or buildings. By cutting it off at ground level it will die off slowly and cause less damage. Hopefully, it won't look too bad as it withers away and as you say little creatures will have time to 'move house'.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I'll let it all remain into the summer, until birds and squirrels are done nesting. Or I'll take it down ASAP before they have a chance to start.
DeleteHe who pays the piper calls the tune and when it comes to the tree surgery you are not paying the piper, you are just the triangle player.
ReplyDeleteThis is true! I really have no say in the matter.
DeleteThat does suck about the ivy. That building is beautiful and stately. I’d love to see the apartments.
ReplyDeleteIf you enter your e-mail address on Zoopla (linked in my post) you can see them!
DeleteWe've got an invasion of a grapevine looking vine that is all the way up to the top of several oak trees and if we don't get rid of it, those trees are going to eventually die. So I'm in the get-rid-of-the-ivy camp. But your ivy may be more well-behaved.
DeleteThat sounds like Boston ivy which practically glows with the red it turns each autumn/winter, my oldest daughter had some along a side fence and it neded clipping every few weeks.
DeleteOr perhaps they are muscadines, the wild grapes of Florida?
DeleteI'd ask that as long as they are up on the ladder, they pull as much as they can. Who knows if they will but it's worth a shot. Pity about the ivy though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think I will ask that.
DeleteSo after cutting it back, will the tree be alive? And was the ivy killing the tree, branch by branch?
ReplyDeleteI think that tree is alive but quite rotten in places. I don't think the ivy was killing it but it does make it heavier and denser (more likely to get blown down).
DeleteWhat a beautiful building. I'll be checking the couch cushions for spare change to see if I can afford a flat there!
ReplyDeleteHa! You must have a HUGE couch.
DeleteIvy is a rapacious plant, once it gets hold of walls and trees. It's an endless task keeping it in bounds.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed. We used to have some growing up the front of the house and I think we've finally managed to kill it, but it's left marks on the walls.
DeleteI have cut ivy vines of the poison variety growing up into trees. The ugliness is usually short lived in the spring, at least for the versions I've dealt with. The ivy generally doesn't have enough body to it so it will wilt back pretty quick and the green of the tree will hide it. By the following spring, you won't notice a thing.
ReplyDeleteI think English ivy is a bit more leathery than poison ivy. (But less irritating!)
DeleteOnly 1.5 Mill , Shoot , Lets Buy Two Flats - Yahoooo00000
ReplyDeleteRight?! Petty change!
DeleteI love the look of that building but I have to admit, the prices you mention are a bit shocking. I just can't wrap my head around the prices of real estate these days. The building does have a very stately look.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the tree situation.
It's crazy what things cost. Our flat would probably be the same. (Too bad we don't own it!)
DeleteIt will be good to get rid of the fallen branch. Removing the entire tree seems extreme. If possible, they usually try to save the tree. Ivy can destroy a tree. This is the only reason I can see causing the recommendation to remove the ivy.
ReplyDeleteThose flats are amazing. Such a stately building!
But they're not removing it all -- they're leaving 20 feet of it, which is a lot. Personally I'm not sure keeping it is the right thing to do. It is not in good shape.
DeleteLooking after trees and larger plants and shrubs is a challenge. The are huge and make a big difference.
ReplyDeleteI do like having these trees as a barrier from the neighboring property, but they're becoming a nuisance!
DeleteBy cutting the elder down to 20' does that mean he's going to top it? Once the ivy dies the wind will probably take care of the leaves. You may be getting more sun in your back garden.
ReplyDeleteMore sun would be a good thing. It's pretty dark back there!
DeleteI think you worry too much about that tree. The tree surgeons will do their best and the tree will be healthier without the ivy strangling it. Your garden is lovely, Steve.
ReplyDeleteYeah, and it's not even mine, really!
DeleteCondos in Vancouver are expensive like London. It's ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI hope the tree trimming goes well.
It IS ridiculous. I don't know who's buying these properties.
DeleteI love real estate listings that let us look inside houses. I'm a very curious type! I'll be interested to see what they actually do with the tree; it sounds confusing.
ReplyDeleteWe shall see. I have a real feeling that whatever they do, I won't like it.
DeleteI bet those apartments are gorgeous inside!
ReplyDeleteYou can see the photos at the links -- they DO look very nice!
DeleteThey do look to be beautiful apartments - oh to have a bit of spare cash laying around!
ReplyDeleteIt would take several steamer trunks full of cash to buy one of those things!
DeleteI would love to have lived in one of those apartments.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me to imagine living in a place like that!
DeleteIn Washington State English ivy is classified as an invasive plant and nurseries are forbidden to sell it. There are a lot of trees that are just covered in it.
ReplyDeleteIs American ivy not invasive?
DeleteYeah, I think it's invasive everywhere! Even in England! (But at least here it's native.)
DeleteRiver, I'm not sure we have true American ivy, though we do have poison ivy and Virginia creeper. Even Boston ivy is actually native to China!
Can you arrange to be there the day the tree man comes so you can ask him about the ivy?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think I can be there when he first shows up and I'll talk to him about his plans.
Delete