Evaluating a Storm's Damage to a Beloved Garden WHILE Larry Lederman was working on his book, "Magnificent Trees of the New York Botanical Garden," published by Monacelli Press, he spent years traversing the 50-acre forest along the banks of the Bronx River. Mr. Lederman returned to the garden last week, to see how his beloved trees had survived Hurricane Sandy. Accompanied by Todd Forrest, vice president of horticulture at the garden, and co-author of the book, he walked through the cultivated grounds of the garden, and through the native Thain Family Forest. Mr. Lederman, a lawyer by training and a photographer by passion, talked to a reporter about his visit. Was there a lot of damage to the trees? Yes, a lot of damage. There are at least 100 trees down in the native forest. There was a lot of damage to conifers, too. Did the forest look different to you? When a tree comes down, it affects all the others around it. They form a canopy. They have a light-sharing network and they help block each other from the wind and hazards. If 100 trees come down, it affects the amount of light that comes into the forest and what will grow there. Has the garden cleaned them up? In the forest they won't clear them. It's a native forest. Other areas of the garden are where things are manicured. They clean everything up. They're very fastidious. But in the natural areas, they won't clean it up. Isn't it hard to walk around fallen trees? They'll clear the paths. Opposite the azalea collection, there's a path into the forest, with a bridge over a stream. You used to be able to stand there and you could see this wonderful example of really old, magnificent trees. One of those trees, about 175 years old, came down. And when it came down, it took down a beech tree, and when that came down it brought down a hickory tree, and other trees came down, too. So there's a whole line that all collapsed one on top of the other because of one mighty tree that came down. They're all gone and they'll never come back in our lifetimes or the lifetime of our children. That's very sad. It is sad. It changes the forest. It's not inconsequential. These were not sick trees. These were healthy trees. Some of them had been here since the Civil War and they had withstood the ravages of weather for years. This was an extraordinary storm. The force of the wind yanked them out of the ground. You see this tree that's 100 feet high and 80 to 90 feet wide and you see it ripped out. You can't take that tree and just jack it back up. Was it hard for you to see that loss? It was heart-rending. It was very hurtful. I don't claim to have attached myself to any particular trees, but by the same token I understand what it took for them to be here and what it represented. They're gorgeous. They come down, leaves and all. So to see this beautiful majestic thing that was leveled by some force is just beyond your imagination. It makes us understand the power of nature.