A Conversation with Dave Gunn
They say If you want to see the view at the top, you have to climb a hard hill. Dave Gunn knows all about hard climbs, but his “hard hills” are usually living trees.
Dave has early memories of vegetable gardening with his Granny Gunn and figuring out how to climb the big silver maples in his yard as a kid. The later memory foreshadowed his career as an arborist and owner of St. Louis Aesthetic Pruning. The small company focuses on the structural and aesthetic pruning of trees and shrubs.
But he wasn’t always a tree geek.
“In 2009, while working for Parkview Gardens. Tom and Holly Gillette (owners) always had some work I could do. I had been working as a maintenance guy, helping to build greenhouses, run irrigation, dig ditches, etc. I used to get customers asking me plant questions, so I would direct them to the master gardeners that worked there. One day I decided to start listening in on the answers. Next, I started asking my own questions and checking out books from the library and put in a small vegetable garden at home. The bug bit hard that year.”
Dave obtained an Associates of Applied Science in Horticulture from Meramec Community College.
“The Horticulture program at Meramec was a profound influence, as well. In addition to the talented folks teaching the classes, the list of guest speakers that came in, especially local area tree nerds, had a big impact on the direction of my career.”
After working for Gardens to Go in Jefferson City, and Metropolitan Forestry Services in Ballwin. The Missouri Botanical Garden hired Dave in 2012. “My experience there had a profound impact on my career. That is where I first fell in love with arboriculture and pruning. I owe a lot to many folks there (and elsewhere), but as far as tree stuff goes, Teresa Pafford and Ben Chu were huge influences and helped lay the foundation of my knowledge of tree care.”
Most people agree how dangerous or hard tree climbing can be, but Dave wishes more realized the knowledge and skill behind it all. “I think what most might not recognize is the scientific knowledge required to take care of trees well. I think horticulture/arboriculture face the same “grunt work” stigma that a lot of the trade industries deal with. Arboriculture lies at the crossroads of adventure, art, and science. I get to do, study and practice all three, every day.”
Dave sometimes is hired for his climbing arborist services to local landscapers, golf courses, etc. And he also engages in education and outreach through posts, articles, and classes.
Even though Dave is a tree lover, he loves felling projects. “I know it seems counter-intuitive. There is something about having to apply finesse and physics to carefully dismantle a living (or dead, even scarier) puzzle that weighs several tons and could kill you if you get it wrong.”
The opportunity to be on such an intimate level with a plant is something few people get to experience.
“I love digging into a messy shrub that hasn’t been touched in years (or ever), and opening things up, getting out the dead, and revealing its structural beauty. I also love climbing up into the canopy of a big, old monster and learning its secrets. Learning about who lives up there, seeing the old battle wounds from previous windstorms and lightning strikes, and what issues you may be able to help with. You can’t see that stuff from the ground.”
And that view at the top? Totally worth it.
Favorite gardening tool?
“Felco2prunersfelco600foldingsawamleonarddeluxesoilknife. That counts as one, right?”
Favorite garden you’ve visited in person, near or far?
“I have a tough time with “favorite?
-Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest in North Carolina. Old-growth tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) forest with specimens as old as five hundred years. That is a special place.
-Klamath Mountains in northern California. Holy Cow, that place! If you’re a conifer nerd, Google “Miracle Mile”.
-Berkeley Botanical Gardens. Tucked up in the folds of the foothills surrounding the Bay Area, they experience a micro-climate that allows them to grow just about anything. Spectacular collection.”
If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have ONE plant to keep you company, what would it be? (It doesn’t have to be a food-bearing plant since this island has a free buffet!)
“Let’s go with a massive, sprawling Banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis).”
What is one thing you wish non-plant geek people would understand?
“That plants respond adversely to stress, the same as all living organisms. Nobody responds well to being “hacked” on.”
If you could have lunch with any other plant geek, dead or living, who would it be?
-“A shared jug of hard cider with John Chapman, (Johnny Appleseed) in a canoe, on the Ohio River, in a still mostly wild America.”
To contact Dave-314-349-9438 or dave@stlpruning.com
Check out his Instagram page for more awesome photos!
St. Louis Aesthetic Pruning (@stlpruning) • Instagram photos and videos
Words by Jo Batzer, photos provided by Dave Gunn.
2022 © Jo Batzer, garden-lou.com, All rights reserved.
