Comment by kamaal | Hacker News Reader

Comment by kamaal | Hacker News Reader

I planted two plants at two corners of my home here in Bangalore, around 10 years back. Today they are large trees, I don't live in a area that you can describe as only where rich people stay. But you don't need to be rich to plant a tree and watch it grow. Its not like maintaining a garden. You don't have to spend a dime. And most trees don't require much maintenance(That is how they grow in the forest). So its not a rich man's thing by any measure.

Apart from the season of Autumn, where you need to broom out the leaves the tree has no other need to tending to. But the benefits are enormous. I go on the top of my home during the nights and its always cool in all seasons. There is always shade, early in the morning birds chirp and its very pleasant to hear that.

My home looks like an Oasis in the middle of an desert as there no trees around. Kids play under it, People like to stop for quick rest. Even from far things look green and fine.

Its only an excuse that rich people stray around green places. The fact is anybody can plant a tree. It doesn't take money to do it.

I don't know what the situation is in Bangalore. Where I live in the US, if I planted a tree in the corner of the yard of my rental apartment, it would most likely be mowed over by the landscaping crew. If it grew up large enough to be noticeable, the same crew would probably chop it down. I'm not wealthy enough to own property where I can plant a tree where it would grow unhindered.

And if your area supports evergreen trees, leaves aren't an issue. It does usually take a little money upfront, but otherwise, yes, it's free.

In my experience, evergreen trees suck. They still drop needles and cones. The evergreen in my backyard killed the grass underneath it. We removed it last year and the lawn came back.

They're fine for forests and hedges, but as a shade tree for a yard, they're substandard to the maples and elms we have.

I don't think our trees are even similar to yours, and our evergreens don't seem to acid the hell out of the earth like yours! New Zealand doesn't have any deciduous trees I'm aware of... They are usually quite 'dark' though and make somewhat too much shade if not pruned.

From the sound of things, you own your home. It's a nice place where even a person of moderate means can acquire a small, modest piece of property and start improving it as their own.

I planted the tree on the road.

From another poster on this thread, I got to know that they don't allow this in the US.

This is sad.

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