When trees become a forest

A NEIGHBOUR of mine has a large garden and about 30 years ago he planted a lot of trees in it. The trees grew well, perhaps a little too well, and he became uneasy about the fact that they were starting to crowd him out. I was called in to give my opinion.

“Should I get rid of those?” he asked, pointing at a line of evergreens on the garden boundary.

The trees in question were Monterey Cypress, more usually known in this country as Macrocarpa from the Latin name of Cupressus macrocarpa. They were quite widely planted around the middle of the last century, particularly in coastal areas because they have a resistance to salt winds. In more recent times Leyland and Lawson Cypresses have become more popular.