When I moved into my home in 1992, the backyard featured a young ginkgo tree, about 10-12 feet high. Over the years, the ginkgo has thrived and is now a majestic 35-40 feet tall, the most prominent and interesting inhabitant of my backyard. Ginkgo trees can be traced back to prehistoric times, and live a long time–some trees are known to have lived for more than a thousand years.
As the seasons change from summer to autumn, the green leaves will turn a beautiful, bright yellow and eventually drop off, along with the ginkgo “fruit” produced by the female tree, covering much of my back yard.
Photo: December 15, 2018.
Extracts from the ginkgo leaves, which have a characteristic fan shape, may improve cognitive function; ginkgo biloba supplements have long been available in health food stores, though some recent scientific studies failed to find such benefits.
Ginkgo trees are either male or female, with the female producing fruit which is actually a seed ball, about the size of a cherry. The flesh of the fruit is yellow-orange in color, has a very unpleasant smell, and irritates your skin. When stepped on, it produces a fleshy, foul-smelling mess that sticks to the soles of your shoes, especially if your soles have a tread pattern—the pulp fills in the grooves very efficiently.
The nut contained in the seed of the fruit is edible and used in some Chinese dishes, but it has to be extracted from the enclosing flesh. Visiting squirrels, who travel throughout the tree at lightning speed but occasionally pause to indulge in a ginkgo nut, are adept at this.
Too Much Growth
Along with its growth upward, the ginkgo tree in my backyard has expanded horizontally. Branches extend over my second floor balcony, and are getting close to the roof. Hoping to avoid the accumulation of fallen leaves and fruit on the balcony, and possible clogging of roof gutters, I called several tree trimming companies, usually getting a recorded greeting. I left messages, but did not get any timely responses.
My friend Marty, a do-it-yourself kind of guy, owns a house and a rental property–perhaps he has tree-trimming experience? Hoping to catch up with him after more than a year, I called Marty on a Friday, leaving a message describing my ginkgo situation and asking about tree trimming.
On Monday, at a success team meeting that I regularly attend, I mentioned my tree trimming interest. Becky, a fellow member, told me about her tree trimming experiences in the condominium development she lives in, and offered to lend me her pruning tool and ladders.
Later on Monday afternoon, Marty called back. It turns out that he does tree trimming at his house and rental property. With excitement in his voice at the prospect of using his expertise to solve a buddy’s problem, he told me about his gas-powered pole saw, ladders, and other tools, and offered to help me trim my tree–we scheduled it on Thursday.
Trimming the Tree
Marty came by on Thursday in his pickup truck, equipped with a gas-powered pole saw, 15 ft and 10 ft ladders, several garbage cans, and a bunch of tools–I was astounded by the quantity of stuff that he brought, and wondered if we would need it all. Working from the second floor balcony, Marty cut back the overhanging branches of the ginkgo tree. To reach higher branches, he set up the 15 ft ladder on the balcony, climbing it and working the pole saw, balancing himself carefully–I held my breath. And from the ground, he cut other branches that were extending over the common condominium area.
In Marty’s hands, the powered pole saw was very efficient, much more so than a manual saw, like the one I had bought from Home Depot but did not use. I had borrowed Becky’s long-handled pruning tool, which turned out to be very useful.
We spent a lot of time cutting the fallen branches and tying them into bunches for disposal. We filled all of his garbage cans with trimmings. Marty hauled all of it back to his home, requiring two trips, where his regular Friday garbage pickup would take it all away.
It was a big, challenging job that took us all day, led expertly by Marty, who had obviously done this before. We used practically all of the equipment he brought. It was satisfying to do it all ourselves, without having to pay a contractor.
Ginkgo Friendships
My shot-in-the-dark inquiries into tree trimming turned into very helpful responses from friends Marty and Becky. The project gave me a chance to catch up with Marty, whom I had not seen in over a year, and to get to know Becky better. I thanked both of them with gifts. I’m grateful to have friends, brought together over a ginkgo tree!