Here’s a native black hawthorn. Quite a lovely tree.

And here’s the decorative replacement in the subdivision up the hill.

Yeah, all of its 2 dozen sisters, and all of its branches except for this one, are dead. Now, mistakes happen, but just think: no-one has come along and replanted them. More interesting yet, it was planted to be part of a landscaped boulevard, to entice people into a development that was meant to be an artwork in a grassland, with sculpted gardens, and this boulevard. They have hundreds of lots yet to sell, but no-one seems to care. Really. Look:

This is a bluebird house, to encourage bluebirds to remain in the grassland, despite the development. They are gone. Wait, so is the house! But there’s a new screw. Thumbs up to that! So, as you can see, we have a long, long way to go. Environmental regulations are not going to help us. But, it can still be beautiful.

And that’s great.