ieuan morris

In what started as a Covid-lockdown project, photographing in nearby streets, this series expanded to a number of Cardiff neighbourhoods. The city is known to have one of the biggest areas of urban parkland in Europe, but what struck me during my exploration was the variety, both in function and design, of front garden trees. There are an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 garden trees in Cardiff, and as in other cities, they function as borders between properties and can dampen noise-pollution. They provide a valuable connection with nature, thus having a positive effect on well-being. They also contribute to bio-diversity, capture and store carbon and in conjunction with grassy areas, reduce water run-off and potential flooding during heavy rainfall.

It is the interaction between tree and householder that became the focus of my gaze: the "taming" of nature by the imposition of "unnatural" forms and sizes. Cubes, cylinders, cones, spheres, hemispheres abound in these gardens. Of course, many of the trees have to be trimmed so that, for instance, light can enter front windows, or to avoid encroachment on a neighbours "air-space", so why not trim to a symmetrical, regular design? However, one could argue, on environmental grounds, that the greater the growth the better it is for everyone, but what would our urban neighbourhoods look like then?