In ‘If Our Trees Could Talk,’ Sioux Falls’ urban forest finds its voice

Which “Paul-ism” to begin with?

A “Paul-ism,” you see, is a comparison that takes what Paul DeJong has learned about trees and has learned about life over his 63 years and combines them into words to live by.

Take raising kids. If you stake a tree too tightly, it loses its ability to sway back and forth in the wind. If you don’t allow kids to experience adversity, they won’t learn to be flexible during good times and bad.

But at the same time, like any tree, you want your child to develop deep, strong roots, DeJong said. The soil also matters. Use as much of the existing soil as possible, he said. And the soil in which you plant them doesn’t have to be a perfect blend. The tree — the child — will adapt.

Here’s a “Paul-ism” about life in general and the seasonal cycle of trees.

“Trees lose everything, and they have to renew themselves over and over again,” DeJong said. “They lose their leaves every fall, only to renew in the spring. We can lose everything we have, but spring eventually comes around. We just have to go through some winter seasons. Life always corrects itself. It might not be the way we want it, but it’s on God’s timeline.”

DeJong has gone through winter. A diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease when he was in his 50s meant earlier-than-expected retirement from co-ownership of Landscape Garden Centers. More than two years ago, he left the house that he had surrounded with autumn blaze maples, white oaks, two different types of white birch and a tricolor beech that is rarely found this far north.

Now, he lives at Touchmark at All Saints, home to a decades-old ginkgo tree, and has a scooter that allows him to travel to the All Saints and McKennan neighborhoods, getting a close-up look at trees he once drove past.

He also used the recent months to complete a long-held dream, a coffee-table book that combines the history of trees in Sioux Falls, DeJong’s knowledge of and philosophy on trees and photographs by Paul Schiller, noted for his photographs of South Dakota’s flora.

“If Our Trees Could Talk — Discovering the Urban Forest of Sioux Falls” is on sale now at the Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum, which will receive 100 percent of the profits. It also will be available at two book signings and open houses later this month.

Mike Cooper, who worked part-time at Landscape Garden Centers after he retired as city planning director and now leads the Arboretum, first heard DeJong’s vision for the book in 2019. He helped its development, driving DeJong around Sioux Falls to inspect tree-filled neighborhoods.

“One of Paul’s favorite things to do was go and walk around in the nursery yard where he had all the plants and trees displayed, and it was fascinating to hear him talk about trees,” Cooper said. “That’s when I first experienced how serious Paul was, emotional even, about trees in Sioux Falls and the neighborhoods in Sioux Falls. His passion for that is very, very strong.”

“If Our Trees Could Talk” includes both recent photos from Schiller and others taken in his extensive portfolio. Schiller started as a photojournalist at the University of South Dakota in the 1960s, co-founded Lawrence & Schiller advertising agency and has been taking photos full time for 25 years.

In conversations with DeJong and Cooper, he learned about the areas they had studied, took new photographs and offered access to past prints.

“I thought it was important to showcase this community in all four seasons. This is the place you’re living in, and it’s changing every 90 days,” said Schiller, who calls the aspen his favorite tree because of the golden yellow color it dons in the fall. He even has an aspen-leaf sculpture from a past SculptureWalk in his home.

Cooper and Schiller were an essential part of the team behind “If Our Trees Could Talk,” DeJong said. That team includes Heather Kittelson, who had served with DeJong on the Arboretum board, and Jeremy Brown with Throne Publishing.

DeJong, raised on a farm near Sheldon, Iowa, moved to Sioux Falls in 1983 after earning a two-year degree in business and marketing. While job-hunting, he drove by Landscape’s predecessor, Lakeland Nursery, then a small garden center south of Sioux Falls. The marquee in front read “now hiring.”

“I thought I’d do that for a few weeks until I could get a real job, although I didn’t really know what I was going to do with my life,” DeJong said.

“It struck me after two weeks that I really liked this job. You could really see the fruits of your labor at the end of the day. You could change the curb appeal in front of someone’s home or change their outdoor living experience because friends and family is what life’s about — faith, family and friends.”

DeJong came to his new job with the background of being the son of “an avid tree guy” and experience in retail during his college years. His subsequent knowledge came from about 40 years with the garden center. He sold his interest in Landscape Garden Centers in 2018 as his Parkinson’s began to progress, staying on for several additional years as a consultant for customer satisfaction.

His favorite season is autumn, when leaves change color and fall in fiery torrents to the ground. Now that he’s retired, however, he has the time to appreciate spring.

“Sometimes, I was so busy in the spring, I couldn’t see the forest for the trees,” he said. “Spring was my favorite time in the business, when customers you hadn’t seen all winter would start flocking through the doors like old home week.”

Now, as DeJong travels in Sioux Falls, he recognizes trees that came from Landscape and remembers why they were planted.

“Some were planted on special occasions like the death of a loved one or the birth of a child,” DeJong said. “I always said trees grow so fast, but then I started up adding up how many years ago I planted or sold them, and I realized maybe it’s life that goes fast.”

He would tell customers that any tree that grows in South Dakota, whether it is crooked or straight, is a good tree. Picture the state when Native Americans roamed the prairies and settlers began moving in to the grassy expanses. The only trees that could be found were near creeks and river banks, he said.

That changed as towns and cities were established. Some of the trees now growing in Sioux Falls serve as a link to the past.

“There’s a tree by the Pettigrew House Museum, a large catalpa tree, by a late-1800s home,” DeJong said. “There’s a garage there that had formerly been a stable, and that tree was there before automobiles graced this city.”

Trees cool people on sweltering summer days, clean the air, offer protection from the wind and are beautiful, DeJong said. What’s not to love?

As a former city planner, Cooper thought he knew trees. Working with DeJong has given him a better appreciation of trees and how they have enhanced the urban canopy of Sioux Falls over the decades.

“One of the reasons why I wanted to do the book was to not only show people what happened in the past but to offer some encouragement for the future,” said Cooper, who has planted an Ohio buckeye, a gingko tree and three kinds of crab apples in his yard. “We want to continue the legacy of beautification in our community.”

As he drives in newer neighborhoods, Cooper doesn’t see the number of trees he wishes he did. The book should help people understand the legacy of Sioux Falls, now with 220,000 people over 85 square miles.

He left his position with the city about the time the emerald ash borer began decimating the green ash trees. The book may help people understand the importance of diversity in planting more than one variety of tree.

DeJong also hopes the book shines a brighter light on the Arboretum’s value to the area. As Sioux Falls becomes more metropolitan, it is important to keep people grounded in nature, he said.

Schiller and his photographer’s eye love the spring for its flowering trees and the multiple unique greens that surface with the new leaves. He also appreciates autumn for its incredible colors and how it turns a landscape into an entirely new scene.

The 200-page book could help people realize how remarkable Sioux Falls and its emergence as an urban forest from grassland is, Schiller said.

“Mother Nature and what our forefathers (did) have turned this community into quite a place,” he said.

The city parks department with its variety of trees and flowers also needs to be appreciated, Schiller said. Earlier this week, he was photographing tulips in McKennan Park and observed park employees on their hands and knees planting flowers.

“I went up to a worker named Sarah and just said thank you,” Schiller said. “If a person doesn’t have anything to do and wants to experience something real special, go to the park, go to the Arboretum, go across the street from it to Arrowhead Park. You’ll find wonderful images in multiple seasons, and it doesn’t cost you anything. I really do appreciate what this project has instilled in me.”

One more “Paul-ism” to end this story. Sometimes, DeJong said, slow is better than fast.

“Many times, I heard the remark, ‘I want the fastest-growing tree you’ve got,’” he said. “The faster the tree grows, the softer it is. It doesn’t have longevity because it will break in the wind. The medium- or slower-growing tree is harder and has deeper roots. You’re planting more of a legacy with an oak tree.”

Book signings

Paul DeJong will be present at a public open house and book signing for “If Our Trees Could Talk — Discovering the Urban Forest of Sioux Falls” at Touchmark at All Saints, 111 W. 17th St. on May 22 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.