I was very pleased to see the small tree in front our our house in bloom this weekend. Three years ago, a gardening expert told us the tree didn't have long to live. It was dying, and he didn't believe it was salvageable. He recommended that we remove it, but we didn't have the budget for it at the time. Instead, we removed the old, well-established bushes that were growing in a circle around the tree.
These were evergreen bushes; the kind that grow slowly and are very hardy. Removing them proved to be quite a challenge. The roots were deep, extensive, and thick. The bushes always did well, no matter the weather. I guess it's because those massive roots were able to suck all the moisture and nutrients out of the soil, enabling the bushes to compete successfully against any nearby plants.
I'm glad we didn't remove the tree at that time. The first winter, it rested comfortably under a blanket of snow, with no bushes or other plantings near it. That spring, it bloomed and appeared healthy. We had expected to find a dead thing there when the snow melted, but the tree surprised us. As time went on, the tree grew stronger and healthier.
As I stood admiring the tree this weekend, I was reminded of companies that have attempted to adopt significant changes in the way they work, only to have the new ideas choked out by the dense undergrowth of old thinking, old assumptions, and old habits. It's funny that some people who have experienced that sort of thing come away believing "trees don't work."
