As a designer, I counsel people all the time about the long-term growth of a plant, but in reality, I plan to achieve most of their goals somewhere in the 5-year time frame. The reality of residential design is that people don’t have the patience or space for things that get really big (over a long period of time), nor is there a strong attitude of reverence for age and precedence. When I have an opportunity to plant something with the potential for greater longevity and genuine long-term impact on the the landscape, I really feel the weight of added responsibility.
It is because of this that I find really old plants remarkable (and that, simply, really old plants are just amazingly cool). Rachel Sussman clearly has a similar reverence, she is the photographer that created these images (and more). She is in the process of photographing the world’s oldest living specimens — and the results are fascinating.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to plant a redwood tree – it was the perfect place on a great property where it will have everything it needs to someday grow to amazing heights. These pictures remind me of the excitement of that moment- knowing that something beautiful on this planet – that I was responsible for – will persist long past my own time here.
It is worth a visit to Rachel’s website to see the images that she has gathered from all over the world. I am inspired to make travel arrangements with ports of call at some of these amazing specimens. How do these inspire you?
And I almost forgot to mention that you can join Rachel (via her blog) as she travels the world to take these fantastic images. It’s an incredible armchair travel bargain.