Up in the Canopy

One tends to equate Florida with palm trees, but for Home & Condo magazine's 2004 Dream Home in North Naples, Fla., the landscape architect thought oak trees - eight live oaks.

"We wanted to use a very mature look," says Christian Andrea, project landscape architect with Architectural Land Design. "Canopy trees bring a sense of history to a site. They have a more northern look, which ties in with the Tuscan design of the house."

Architectural Land Design, a full-service landscape architectural firm, is doing the landscape design for this house. McGarvey Custom Homes is the builder.

The oaks, measuring from 18 to 36 feet, were transplanted from central Florida, one tree per truck. These oaks were root-pruned to regrow the roots closer to the trunk.

Once a tree is dug out, someone must trim its branches to reduce stress on the tree. The branches then are bound with wire so they don't hit light posts, etc., on the tree's trip to its new home. Many times the root ball is wrapped in plastic to keep moisture in.

Using mature trees "has been the trend for a couple of years now," Andrea says. "Especially in golf course communities. It's not that expensive, maybe $5,000, which is what a palm tree costs, and that's just a stick with some leaves on it."

Of course, palm trees have their place, too, and also will be used around this house, which is being built in The Estates at TwinEagles. The 10,787-square-foot home also has six water features, including a 450-gallon, wall-mounted aquarium. The Dream Home is expected to be completed by February 2004.