If you are considering planting trees around your house but are unsure if the investment of money and effort will be beneficial, you may not be aware of the numerous ways in which trees will enhance your home and quality of life. In addition to enhancing the physical appeal of your house, planting trees will also give you unexpected financial and lifestyle benefits. Here are three excellent advantages of tree planting on your property:
1. Noise Reduction
Trees have the ability to instantly make your life quieter by muffling noise, which is especially helpful if you live near a busy road or in a noisy metropolitan setting. They act as natural sound barriers, which means they may help filter out annoying sounds and make your house seem much more peaceful and quiet. Some property owners discover that erecting a noise barrier in the form of trees enables them to experience their yards in a different light. This is because they are able to spend time in their yards free from the distractions and stresses that are caused by the nearby roadways.
Having said that, it is essential to be aware that not all trees and shrubs are created equal in terms of their usefulness. So before you start looking for trees for sale , let’s look at what kinds of trees and plants provide the best sound barriers?
a) Arborvitae Trees
Arborvitae trees, particularly American Pillars, Thuja Green Giants, and Emerald Green Arborvitaes, are frequently used as sound and privacy barriers. Because of the evergreen quality of the dense, velvety leaves, these trees may be planted closer to one another than other kinds of trees. You can use them to construct an extremely dense hedge or wall, particularly if you plant them in two rows that are offset from one another.
b) Trees and Shrubs of the Holly Genus
It is important to keep in mind that huge evergreen broadleaf trees and shrubs are the most efficient noise-blocking plant life. This is due to the fact that they absorb the most sound and provide noise reduction throughout the whole year. Holly bushes and trees are a good choice for landscaping and noise reduction. Holly bushes and trees are a good choice for landscaping and noise reduction ollies are evergreen trees that have a lustrous, dark green appearance and are excellent sound barriers.
Holly trees from the United States, such as the Nellie Stevens variety or the American holly tree, are great examples of successful varieties. The former may grow to a height of up to 20 feet and a width of up to 18 feet, but the latter can reach a monstrous height of up to 50 feet and a width of up to 40 feet. Because of their thick leaves, which act as substantial barriers to sound, and because they grow so fast, these trees are an effective, as well as aesthetically pleasing, complement to your approach to reducing noise.
Holly bushes, in general, have leaves that are waxy and green, and you can recognize certain species of holly bushes by the vivid red berries that grow on them throughout the early spring or the summer. Some of the varieties are especially useful when used as a component of a plant barrier. These include the Blue Prince holly and the Steeds holly, both of which are capable of reaching heights of up to 8 feet and have wide leaves that are excellent at absorbing noise. Even taller than that, Castle Spire Blue hollies may reach heights of up to 12 feet. These are fantastic for filling in the spaces in your noise reduction barrier that are created by the trees. You can find these trees for sale online.
c) Cypress Trees
Given that the classic Italian cypress that most people see has very little surface area coverage, this may come off as an unexpected feature. On the other hand, if it is planted in a thick enough manner, it can function as an effective barrier against the transmission of sound. There are also other species of cypress trees that are considerably broader and have more thick foliage, which helps to reduce noise. Both the Leyland Cypress tree and the Carolina Sapphire Cypress tree are included in this category. The Leyland Cypress tree may reach a height of up to 50 feet and is an excellent choice for creating hedges.
The vast majority of cypress tree species are evergreen, which enables them to provide dependable noise insulation throughout the year. When you consider the level of protection they offer, you’ll see that they are also very effective in giving you some privacy. You can find cypress trees for sale online.
Take into consideration the following recommendations for best practices in order to get the most out of your investment and efficiently cut down on noise pollution:
Establish your buffer in close proximity to the source of the noise. The proximity of your noise-dampening plants to possible sources of noise directly correlates to the effectiveness of such plants. If your property is located next to a busy road or if you have neighbors who tend to be very loud, you should design your landscaping in such a way that it blocks the noise caused by the road or neighbors. Nevertheless, ensure that you give sufficient space to account for the possibility of traffic accidents or snow that may drift.
Purchase plants that bloom during the time range you prefer. In general, trees with less developed trunks and branches cost less than those with more developed trunks and branches, but certain kinds of saplings might take several years to grow to a height where they can effectively block noise. Consider making an investment in trees with a rapid growth rate or purchasing plants that are already mature if you need an immediate answer to your noise pollution concerns.
Prioritize evergreen plants. This page covers a wide variety of plants, many of which are evergreens. This is due to the fact that they offer the highest level of reliable protection against noise. Evergreen trees and bushes are an absolute necessity for achieving year-round success in noise abatement. Be certain that the deciduous or semi-evergreen varieties you choose, which are suited for the climate where you live, will still satisfy your requirements for noise reduction throughout the most important seasons of the year.
Make the most of the geography of your yard to your advantage. When picking the best trees for privacy, it is essential to keep in mind that the taller your plants are, the more noise pollution they are able to block out. This is a comparable worry. A significant reduction in the quantity of noise that your sound barrier is able to block out will result from placing it in a ditch. The slopes in your yard, on the other hand, might be used to your advantage in the overall design, particularly if they are oriented toward probable sources of noise. Great benefits may be achieved by erecting a plant barrier in this area.
Establish thick buffers by making sure that your trees and shrubs are planted in a dense configuration with close spacing between each individual plant. Although all plants require a certain amount of space in order to flourish, the exact proportions of this requirement change depending on the species. Homeowners have the ability to construct a “wall” of vegetation by planting noise-blocking plants in extremely close proximity to one another, such as the kind of plants that were discussed before in this article. Be cautious to prevent gaps whenever it is practicable to do so, especially in places that are close to sources of noise.
2. Trees Improve Cognitive Function
Cognitive function in middle age is an excellent indicator of whether or not an individual would eventually be diagnosed with dementia. The findings of a new study, which was directed by a researcher from the School of Public Health, suggest that increasing the amount of green space in residential areas may help improve cognitive function in middle-aged women. The researchers believe that this association may be explained by a reduction in depression, which is also a risk factor for dementia.
According to the findings of a study that was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Network Open, exposure to green space around one’s home and the surrounding neighborhood may improve one’s ability to process information quickly and pay attention, as well as boost overall cognitive function. In addition, the findings demonstrated that a decreased level of depression may help to explain the association between greenspace and cognition. These findings lend credence to earlier studies that have demonstrated a correlation between spending time in parks, community gardens, and other types of greenery and improved mental health. After taking into account factors such as age, race, individual socioeconomic position, and the socioeconomic status of the area, the researchers discovered that exposure to green space was connected with psychomotor speed and attention, but not with learning or working memory.
The researchers looked at the potential roles that air pollution and physical activity could play in explaining the association between green space and cognitive function. However, to their surprise, they only found evidence of depression as a mediating factor in the relationship between green space and cognitive function.
Although there is evidence that this link exists, the metric that the researchers employed to assess exposure to greenspace does not discriminate between the many kinds of plants that are considered to be green space. Pescador Jimenez will apply deep learning algorithms to images from Google Street View as part of a new project that is being funded by the National Institute on Aging. The goal of this project is to gain a better understanding of which specific aspects of greenery, such as trees or grass, could be the driving factors for health.
The researchers also have high hopes that this work will be reproduced in other racial and ethnic communities and that correlations with cognitive impairment over longer periods of time will be analyzed.
3. Trees Reduce Flooding Risk
There is no place on Earth that is immune to flooding, but metropolitan areas have a higher risk of flooding both in frequency and severity. This is because a significant proportion of the land is covered by impermeable surfaces, such as paved roads and rooftops, which prevent water from percolating into the ground and instead cause it to “run.” The majority of urbanized places have large systems of gutters, drains, and pipelines to swiftly carry water “away” to neighboring streams as a direct response to the increasing amount of water that is “run-off.” This leads to a quick rise in water levels as well as an increase in the velocity of the water, all of which can easily result in flooding on a local or even regional scale.
As rain falls over an urban forest’s leafy canopy, it takes longer for the precipitation to reach the ground, so allowing more water to soak into the ground over the course of a longer period of time. This alleviates the effects of heavy rainfall by effectively elongating the duration of the rain, which leads to less runoff that moves at a slower rate. Because live roots and decaying roots make the soil permeable and create a network of well-connected, microscopic channels in the soil, trees also assist in the process of rainwater infiltration into the ground. It takes precipitation several hundred times longer for water to percolate through soil that has such channels than it does in soil that does not include such channels.
In addition, when plant waste falls to the ground and begins to decompose biologically, it contributes to the soil’s ability to keep its structure and create aggregated clumps on a smaller scale. These clumps are also responsible for the porous nature of the soil. Therefore, land that is shaded by trees has a greater capacity to absorb water from precipitation. Because of this, the amount of water that flows over the surface after a rain event is reduced, and as a result, the amount of water that flows into rivers and streams is also reduced.
Flood peak heights are predicted to decrease by 10–15 percent after 25 years of forest growth if reforestation is carried out in 20–35 percent of the river’s catchment area. This prediction is based on the findings of computational models.
When trees are cut down, the majority of the rainfall typically enters streams and rivers within a relatively short period of time, which can lead to an increase in the frequency and severity of floods. This type of high-intensity flow is typically inaccessible to human people and typically flows towards the ocean. Additionally, it causes soil erosion, which ultimately results in a loss of soil nutrients. Formerly tree cover is eliminated, and enormous swaths of land that were once productive and are located in a location that receives a relatively high amount of yearly rainfall can become desertified.
By planting trees around your home, you and your family will enjoy these benefits for generations to come. Give us a call today for more information.
