Calgarians love their trees. Look at any picture from the late 1800s and you will see that the landscape encompassing our city was, for all intents and purposes, bald prairie.

One could suggest that someone planted every tree we enjoy now, and the massive trees that create an urban forest in many of our older districts were undoubtedly put there by new homeowners starting in the 1900s.

There are an estimated seven million trees within the borders of Calgary and, as every local gardener knows, each has to be nourished, trimmed and loved. Anyone with large trees on their property is proud of them, and many talk about them on radio gardening shows or write about them in newspapers and gardening books.

The City of Calgary has rules about tree removal on “city-owned” land and is investigating options for encouraging the preservation of trees on private land.

Most people, however, do not need more rules from city hall to take care of their........

© Calgary Herald