Trout Brook Landscaping - September 2021

Meet Part of Our Team!

Rick is the kindest, calmest bucket operator this side of the Mississippi. Rick has seen the whole country in his day, and he probably picked up his calm

Slava is a rookie tree guy and a maverick hustler. And I don’t mean gambling. (He gave that up in the pool halls of his native

Devon is rugged and noble in appearance and attitude, and rumored to be the son of Connecticut aristocracy. Mr. Devon Marino of Cromwell

always stands up for protocol and process in the interest of his crew’s wellbeing. When you see him running equipment efficiently, you would think he was born with a silver chainsaw in his hand. In his life outside tree work Devon appreciates the fine arts of drone photography, jet boating, and heavy metal music.

attitude while in the Western states climbing high altitudes and removing 200-foot cedars in the 90’s. As a side hobby, he is a “wood connoisseur.” He enjoys collecting unnaturally shaped wood burls and twisted branches to carve and finish into useful items. You can find Rick on a hot summer day wearing a sweat and sap-stained cheap white T-shirt to stay cool.

Litchfield County years ago.) He rakes brush with the frenzied pace of a hotshot firefighter diggin’ a fire line, which is actually what he used to do in a former life. You can find Slava wandering around wondering where he left his Redbull and his phone, because he’s usually working too hard to remember.

Getting to the Root of the Problem

Trees provide shade, capture carbon, and add beauty to outdoor landscapes. They can also be the source of endless fallen leaves or fruit to rake up, hazardous branches, and strong root systems that can upend sidewalks or yards and cause drainage problems. That’s exactly what happened in a Minnesota court case, and the outcome teaches us a lot about how to be good stewards of the land and trees while also being good neighbors. In Holmberg v. Bergin , a Minneapolis homeowner who’d planted an elm tree just over a foot from his property line was sued after the tree grew to 30 inches in diameter and an astounding 75 feet high! The tree’s trunk destroyed the neighbor’s fence as it grew, but more problematically, the root system was so vigorous that it broke through the sidewalk and caused drainage issues at the neighbor’s house. The court ruled in favor of the neighbor, saying that the tree had created a nuisance. However, the judge did not award monetary damages, as the neighbor had requested. Instead, because the roots could not be addressed without damaging the tree, the court ordered it to be cut down. This was a rather extreme case, but many people wonder what recourse they have if their

neighbor’s trees are producing excess leaves, fallen fruit, or problems from dangerous limbs or wily roots. While laws vary by state, your best first course of action is using what’s called self-help. That means that you can help yourself to pruning the branches or roots that encroach on your property. When it comes to fruit, the courts are divided. Some say that the fruit belongs solely to whoever has the trunk of the fruit tree in their yard, while others say that overhanging limbs with fruit are fair game for neighbors or passersby. As with many things that are irritating but not a nuisance in the eyes of the law, the best place to start is by chatting with your neighbor. No matter what the law says, your neighbor may be happy to share the fruit on their tree’s overhanging limbs or hear your other concerns about the tree and work to mitigate the problem. And as that Minnesota judge alluded to in their ruling, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Speak up early if you see a budding issue with your neighbor’s tree.

2 | (860) 888-8472

Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online