Tree Questionnaire 2: Scott Smith

My 2nd Tree Questionnaire was completed by Scott Smith, Photographer. As he mentions, he is involved in an exciting project of producing 29 large-format photos of exceptional Palm Trees for an exhibition. Scott was also a committed Treesaver who worked tirelessly to help save some of the Ficus Trees on the streets of Santa Monica. Here are his answers:

Q: What is your first memory of a tree?
S: Flowering plum tree in our front yard (Baltimore) - deep dark maroon leaves.

Q: Which is your favorite tree of all?
S: A climbable ancient oak.

Q: Could you name or describe an artistic depiction of a tree that is special to you?
S: Bernice Abbott's b&w photo of birds in a tree.

Q: Was there a particular person who introduced you to the importance of trees?
S: Big Jim (older kid) who explained the building of tree forts in terms of parental escape.

Q: What is the most useful quality a tree can provide?
S: Shelter (sitting under, as well as building material).

Q: If you were a tree which would you be and why?
S: Coconut palm - lives at the beach, leans out over lapping waves and watches girls in bikinis.

Q: Which is the happiest tree?
S: Ficus - innocent and optimistic, the original lollipop tree drawn by kids.

Q: Are there any trees that are part of your life now?
S: Twenty nine palms captured on film for my exhibition prints and three live palms on the sunporch.

Q: What would you do, or like to do, to help trees?
S: Been there, done that with Treesavers.

Q: What would you say to future generations about the importance of trees?
S: Trees are our planet's lungs - protect them.


Some weeks ago, before completing the Questionnaire, Scott sent me his photo below, as of a tree he "fell in love with tonight"!

Tree Questionnaire 1: Kate Holt

Influenced by "The Proust Questionnaire"- confessional questionnaires completed by Marcel Proust in 1886 and 1890-1891- I am sending out Tree Questionnaires to people in different walks of life who share with me a love of trees. My first victim, Kate Holt, is a writer from England- who this year became a US Citizen- and a fellow Santa Monica Treesaver. Here are her comments:

Q: What is your first memory of a tree?
K: Sitting under the almond blossom tree in our garden (England), soft scent, petals falling like snow.

Q: Which is your favorite tree of all?
K: Blossoming lime (linden) tree.

Q: Could you name or describe an artistic depiction of a tree that is special to you?
K: From childhood, the illustration of a tree house in my cherished Tall Book of Tales.

Q: Was there a particular person who introduced you to the importance of trees?
K: Mother and father, who continue to plant many varieties of trees on their property in England.

Q: What is the most useful quality a tree can provide?
K: Protection - as shelter for wildlife and shade for the rest of us.

Q: If you were a tree which would you be and why?
K: Coast redwood - breathes California's cool ocean air, lives longer than most and enjoys superlative views.

Q: Which is the happiest tree?
K: Apple tree - what could be happier than a tree bearing sweet red fruit?

Q: Are there any trees that are a part of your life now?
K: The kapok tree outside our bedroom window with its cycle of glorious pink flowers, green leafiness, plump seeds, and bare branches that cast exquisite shadows on the wall.

Q: What would you do, or like to do to help trees?
K: Nurture our urban forests and cherish trees everywhere.

Q: What would you say to future generations about the importance of trees?
K: Only connect - marvel at their complexity, beauty, and utility. Trees mysteriously commune with the earth and the sky, above and beneath which we would cease to exist without them.