Local man plants oak tree upside down in protest

Call it a monument to residential resistance. Or just protest art.

Karl Knowles has an upside down oak tree speared into his front yard. The roots push skyward at roughly 20 feet in the air, like a hand with palm and fingers outstretched.

The image certainly attracts the attentions of passersby of the Buck Lake Road property.

"There are a lot of elements that go into what’s going on with this tree. It’s not just me sticking a tree into the ground," said Knowles.

But not everyone is impressed with Knowles' artwork.

Last July, the 60-year-old first received an order from the City to remove a fallen oak on his property, citing a violation to Land Development Code. A follow up violation notice was sent in October.

According to a document obtained by the Democrat, the city instructed Knowles to "Remove the trees that have fallen on the property. Remove the tarp from the roof and make all necessary repairs."

It was dated Oct. 6, 2017 and sent by certified mail.

Knowles, who is president of a Tallahassee-based media company, decided to repair his roof. But he didn't like other parts of the order. He felt it took away from the ecosystem he was cultivating in his yard.

"When faced with the demand by the City that I remove the tree, I found that an unacceptable option," he said.

Knowles has lived on his two-acre lot for about 10 years. Throughout that time, he has been active in fostering what he sees as his yard's natural habitat. The yard looks tended but it's not landscaped. It looks like a rural plot of land in a suburban area. There's no well-cut lawn. Trees are allowed to flourish.

The thought of fixing the tree as a snag — a term referring to naturally-occurring standing dead trees — did appeal to him at first. What if city enforcement officials missed his message under all that subtlety?

"But then I thought, that really doesn’t make as much of a statement as it would if I sit it back upside down," he said.

The roots — now in the air — retain much of the dirt from when the tree fell, creating an additional opportunity for vegetation to flower.

"It basically is more real estate to plant on," said Knowles.

"It's basically a blank canvas I can use it for whatever mood strikes me at a given time," he said.

He was working on installing a couple concrete posts in his driveway and had rented a crane, which he used to position the tree on Jan. 2.

"Getting (the tree) to stand up was actually very easy," said Knowles.

He predicts it will take a decade, at least, for the oak to decompose.

He expects to plant a flowering vine in the dirt at the top which will cascade downward, creating the effect of a weeping willow — a relaxed tree, he said.

"The tree laying on the ground was just a tree laying on the ground," he said. "But once we put it in the hole, it just suddenly became this new object of art, of nature...To me, every time I see this tree, I smile. It just does it to me."

City officials might not be amused. They haven't sent Knowles any reviews yet.