--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A gentleman in those days consulted his…" description: "\"“A gentleman in those days consulted his heirs about tree planting. Should you plant a group of copper beeches against a group of white maples over aga..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/ford-madox-ford-3409_flower_a-gentleman-in-those-days-consulted-his_49084.jpg" --- # A gentleman in those days consulted his heirs about tree… ![“A gentleman in those days consulted his heirs about tree planting. Should you plant a group of copper beeches against a group of white maples over against the ha-ha a quarter of a mile from the house so that the contrast seen from the ball-room windows should be agreeable—in thirty years’ time? In…” quote by Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/ford-madox-ford-3409_flower_a-gentleman-in-those-days-consulted-his_49084.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/ford-madox-ford-3409_flower_a-gentleman-in-those-days-consulted-his_49084.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/ford-madox-ford-3409_flower_a-gentleman-in-those-days-consulted-his_49084.jpg) > ““A gentleman in those days consulted his heirs about tree planting. Should you plant a group of copper beeches against a group of white maples over against the ha-ha a quarter of a mile from the house so that the contrast seen from the ball-room windows should be agreeable—in thirty years’ time? In those days thought, in families, went in periods of thirty years, owner gravely consulting heir who should see that development of light and shade that the owner never would.”” [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A reflection on long‑term landscape planning, emphasizing how decisions about planting trees shape visual harmony for future generations. **In simple terms:** Legacy planning in estate design. Key Takeaway Think beyond immediate needs. Themes legacy environment aesthetic intergenerational planning Mood contemplative nostalgic thoughtful Type philosophical advice historical When to use this quote - family estate management - garden design - urban planning - heritage preservation - long‑term property investment Key Concepts tree selection spatial contrast heritage temporal perspective Practical Applications - guiding heirs in landscape decisions - informing sustainable estate policies Questions to Reflect On - How does foresight affect environmental stewardship? - What role does aesthetics play in intergenerational decisions? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Gentlemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentlemen/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tree planting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-planting/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [“He was in a beastly hole. But decency demanded that he shouldn't act in panic. He had a mechanical, normal panic that made him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/he-was-in-a-beastly-hole-but-decency-demanded-that-he-shouldn-t-act/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets, but humbler folk may circumvent this restriction if they know how. To plant a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/acts-of-creation-are-ordinarily-reserved-for-gods-and-poets-but/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [“I’m planting a tree to teach me to make the world a better place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-koehle-jones/i-m-planting-a-tree-to-teach-me-to-make-the-world-a-better-place/) [Andrea Koehle Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-koehle-jones/) > [I think the most enduring lesson I was taught through my experiences of being a Girl Scout was that I was a member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-merchant/i-think-the-most-enduring-lesson-i-was-taught-through-my-experiences/) [Natalie Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-merchant/) > [In that case, there is no time to lose. Plant it this afternoon!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/in-that-case-there-is-no-time-to-lose-plant-it-this-afternoon/) [John F. 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Thus, one fulfils one's responsibilities, serves one's fellow-beings which not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/on-a-certain-day-month-and-year-one-should-observe-the-ceremony-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“Cut down no trees, for they are home to the birds you adore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/cut-down-no-trees-for-they-are-home-to-the-birds-you-adore/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [What do we plant when we plant a tree? A thousand things that we daily see, We plant the spire that out-towers the crag,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-abbey/what-do-we-plant-when-we-plant-a-tree-a-thousand-things-that-we-daily/) [Henry Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-abbey/) > [Tree planting is always a utopian enterprise, it seems to me, a wager on a future the planter doesn't necessarily expect to witness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/tree-planting-is-always-a-utopian-enterprise-it-seems-to-me-a-wager/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Forests are the lungs of our land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/forests-are-the-lungs-of-our-land/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Let soldiers on manoeuvres plant trees. Give police and criminals a shovel and a thousand seedlings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wright/let-soldiers-on-manoeuvres-plant-trees-give-police-and-criminals-a/) [John Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wright/) > [That's the way I do things when I want to celebrate, I always plant a tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/that-s-the-way-i-do-things-when-i-want-to-celebrate-i-always-plant-a/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [“Charles Lathrop Pack, president of the American Tree Association, told how Rogers gave him advice in handling an educational campaign in tree planting. 'Will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-brien/charles-lathrop-pack-president-of-the-american-tree-association-told/) P.J. O'Brien ## More by Ford Madox Ford > [New York is large, glamorous, easy-going, kindly and incurious, but above all it is a crucible - because it is large enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/new-york-is-large-glamorous-easy-going-kindly-and-incurious-but-above/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“You can't kill a minuet de la coeur. You may shut up the music book... but surely the minuet-- the minuet itself is dancing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/you-can-t-kill-a-minuet-de-la-coeur-you-may-shut-up-the-music-book/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“You see in such a world as this, an idealist -or perhaps it's only a sentimentalist-must be stoned to death. He makes the others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/you-see-in-such-a-world-as-this-an-idealist-or-perhaps-it-s-only-a/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“How was it possible that the most honourable man she knew should be so overwhelmed by foul and baseless rumours? It made you suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/how-was-it-possible-that-the-most-honourable-man-she-knew-should-be/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [It is not merely that people must die and people must suffer, if not here, then there. But what is dreadful is that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/it-is-not-merely-that-people-must-die-and-people-must-suffer-if-not/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“But upon my word, I don't know how we put in our time. How does one put in one's time? How is it possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/but-upon-my-word-i-don-t-know-how-we-put-in-our-time-how-does-one-put/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [In every man there are two minds that work side by side, the one checking the other; thus emotion stands against reason, intellect corrects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/in-every-man-there-are-two-minds-that-work-side-by-side-the-one/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“No, by God, it is false! It wasn't a minuet that we stepped; it was a prison - a prison full of screaming hysterics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/no-by-god-it-is-false-it-wasn-t-a-minuet-that-we-stepped-it-was-a/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [Damn it all, it's the first duty of a soldier - it's the first duty of all Englishmen - to be able to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/damn-it-all-it-s-the-first-duty-of-a-soldier-it-s-the-first-duty-of/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“Yes, society must go on; it must breed, like rabbits. That is what we are here for. But then, I don't like society—much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/yes-society-must-go-on-it-must-breed-like-rabbits-that-is-what-we-are/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“The signal for the train's departure was a very bright red; that is about as passionate a statement as I can get into that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/the-signal-for-the-train-s-departure-was-a-very-bright-red-that-is/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [The world is full of places to which I want to return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/the-world-is-full-of-places-to-which-i-want-to-return/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [...she had always known under her mind and now she confessed it: her agony had been, half of it, because one day he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/she-had-always-known-under-her-mind-and-now-she-confessed-it-her/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“I like the slow, smooth roll of the great big trains—and they are the best trains in the world! I like being drawn through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/i-like-the-slow-smooth-roll-of-the-great-big-trains-and-they-are-the/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“But to betray her with battalion... That is against decency, against Nature...And for him, Christopher tietjens, to come down to the level of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/but-to-betray-her-with-battalion-that-is-against-decency-against/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) [Explore all 124 Ford Madox Ford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) ## More Flower quotes > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most girls get flowers or candy. I get a declaration of martial law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shearin/most-girls-get-flowers-or-candy-i-get-a-declaration-of-martial-law/) [Lisa Shearin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shearin/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism and baseball. Spring training is a time to think about being young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-banks/spring-training-means-flowers-people-coming-outdoors-sunshine/) [Ernie Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-banks/) > [Sometimes, sometimes it is really difficult to turn and walk away from someone you have loved and cherished for so long. You know deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kreger/sometimes-sometimes-it-is-really-difficult-to-turn-and-walk-away-from/) [David Kreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kreger/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. 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