82 Tree Quotes to Encourage Growth and Preservation
More than 73,000 tree species exist, and our hand-picked selection of tree quotes celebrated their various qualities and characteristics. For instance, the coast redwood is the tallest tree in the world and can reach heights of over 100 meters. Another example is the mesquite tree, which has earned the title of the world's most resilient tree by surviving in the middle of the desert for more than 400 years without access to water.
On the other hand, human activity consistently results in the destruction of trees and deforestation. Thankfully, many individuals care about the environment and have created tree-planting projects and groups to preserve and grow more trees.
We can take many lessons from trees from biologists, journalists, poets, and famous people. Trees are often seen as a symbol of life and growth and can inspire us to reflect on our natural environment, connect with nature and consider our own growth and resilience.
We’ve collected some of the most beautiful and thought-provoking tree quotes from a variety of sources. Whether you’re looking for words to live by or simply want to appreciate trees in a new light, these quotes about trees are sure to resonate.
Related: For more trees, we’ve also curated lists of some of the best pine tree, and palm tree quotes, and our forest quotes are sure to inspire you to get outdoors and enjoy the trees.
Quick links to our selection of tree quotes:
Best Tree Quotes
It's not just its height that makes the coast redwood the strongest tree in the world - it's also its width.
The trunk of a coast redwood can be up to 16 meters wide, making it one of the widest trees in existence. But what really sets the coast redwood apart from other trees is its wood. Coast redwoods have some of the thickest and most resilient bark of any tree species, and their wood is incredibly strong and dense.
In fact, coast redwoods are so strong that they're often used in construction, including for bridges and buildings. With this information about the coast redwood, no wonder some regard it as one of the best trees in the world, much as these tree quotes we collected. Read on for a few of the best:
"A forest of these trees is a spectacle too much for one man to see."
- David Douglas
"Trees are our closest relatives. What trees exhale, we inhale; what we exhale, they inhale. They are half our respiratory system."
- Jaggi Vasudev
"Trees are complicated, fascinating things, usually older and more beautiful than any of us."
- Monty Don
"Trees are great. Don't get me started about how clever they are, how oxygen-generous, how time-formed in inner cyclic circles, how they provide homes for myriad creatures, how - back when this country was covered in forests - the word for sky was an Old English word that meant 'tops of trees.'"
- Ali Smith
"Trees love to toss and sway; they make such happy noises."
- Emily Carr
"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree."
- Emily Bronte
Tree Quotes About The Impact Of Human Activities On The Environment
What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Trees play an essential role in our environment, providing shelter and food for wildlife, regulating the water cycle, and helping to combat climate change. However, human activities can have a negative impact on trees, both directly and indirectly.
For example, clearing land for development or farming can destroy entire forests. Indirectly, air pollution and acid rain can damage the leaves of trees, making it difficult for them to photosynthesize.
Additionally, invasive species can threaten the health of trees by competing for resources or introducing new diseases. Thankfully, there are things we can do to mitigate these impacts. For instance, developing a better understanding of the role trees play in our ecosystem can help us make more informed decisions about how we use and develop the land.
In addition, planting trees is a great way to offset the loss of trees due to human activity. Let's limit the ways in which we harm the environment and let these tree quotes from writers and biologists help us understand the harm that comes from our actions.
"When trees burn, they leave the smell of heartbreak in the air."
- Jodi Thomas
"God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools."
- John Muir
"If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, doesn't it just lie there and rot?"
- Chuck Palahniuk
"Trees face many difficulties, what with deforestation and pollution, but that didn't stop me from wanting to be one - to just stop feeling and live."
- Emma Gonzalez
"Ancient trees are precious. There is little else on Earth that plays host to such a rich community of life within a single living organism."
- Sir David Attenborough
Quotes About Protecting Trees
Every day, 80,000 acres of forests disappear from Earth. This is an alarming rate of forest loss. The deforestation of forests comes at a cost -- both to the environment and to humanity. Most of our world’s oxygen is produced by the ocean and trees.
Without trees, deserts would spread out, lowering the temperature. Global warming will worsen melting ice, leading to disastrous flooding and mass starvation. However, planting trees can help reduce the impact of climate change.
When it comes to protecting trees, some people believe that the best defense is a good offense. Others take a more passive approach, believing that the best way to protect trees is to let them be. This section of tree quotes reminds us all to contribute to their protection.
Related: you might also like our compilation of the best environment quotes.
"Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them."
- Bill Vaughan
"We are aware only of the empty space in the forest, which only yesterday was filled with trees."
- Anna Freud
"If you're trashing your own country, ruining the soils, contaminating the waters and the air, cutting down trees, overfishing the lakes, rivers and oceans, you're not much of a patriot."
- Douglas Tompkins
"Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away; and if they could, they would still be destroyed - chased and hunted down as long as fun or a dollar could be got out of their bark hides, branching horns, or magnificent bole backbones."
- John Muir
"I am not against development, but society will go nowhere if you don't take care of trees."
- Raj Thackeray
"If we're destroying our trees and destroying our environment and hurting animals and hurting one another and all that stuff, there's got to be a very powerful energy to fight that. I think we need more love in the world. We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, more laughter. I definitely want to contribute to that."
- Ellen DeGeneres
"Deforestation will continue as long as cutting down and burning trees is more economic than preserving them."
- Johan Eliasch
"Trees exhale for us so that we can inhale them to stay alive. Can we ever forget that? Let us love trees with every breath we take until we perish."
- Munia Khan
Planting Trees Quotes
The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.
~ Chinese proverb
Many people are working to protect our forests and trees. Organizations like The International Tree Foundation (originally Men of Trees) are raising awareness about the importance of trees and fighting for their protection. It was founded by Richard St Barbe Barker in 1992.
Headquartered in the United Kingdom, the non-profit organization has aimed and fueled the world’s environmental and replantation movement for decades. As more people understand the value of trees, we can hope to take steps to reduce deforestation and protect these important natural resources. Here are some tree quotes to encourage you to join us in the advocacy of tree planting.
Related: Also, many brands have taken it upon themselves to plant trees alongside your purchase. A small step you can take is to shop with those that help reduce our environmental impact, and for each tree planted, we take a small step forward toward environmental preservation.
"If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people."
- Confucius
"No one can reap the fruit before planting the trees."
- Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
"He plants trees to benefit another generation."
- Caecilius Statius
"I am sure that if you plant the trees back again, it will do nothing but good."
- Michael Fish
"I planted trees but the idea that you can offset carbon is nonsense - planting trees is more a way of acknowledging harm and apologising."
- Gail Bradbrook
"I plant a lot of trees. I am a great believer in planting things for future generations. I loathe the now culture where you just live for today."
- Penelope Keith
"There are thousands of ways to take action. For example, plant trees, pick up litter, join an organisation or movement that makes a difference and especially try to influence adults and put pressure on people in power."
- Greta Thunburg
"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree."
- Martin Luther
"It's the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees."
- Wangari Maathai
"Only by planting trees, we will be able to overcome global warming."
- Vivek
"Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven't done a thing. You are just talking."
- Wangari Maathai
Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
~ Warren Buffett
Tree Quotes Appreciating Their Natural Beauty
Matt Haig, an English author, said, “Finland is officially the world's happiest country. It is also 75 percent forest. I believe these facts are related.”
There is nothing quite like admiring a tree in all its natural glory. Whether you're looking at a grand oak that has stood for centuries or a delicate cherry blossom that only blooms for a few weeks each year, trees inspire wonder and appreciation.
There is something about trees that just makes them so captivating. Maybe it's their towering height, the rustle of the wind through pine trees, or the way they provide shade and shelter.
Whatever the reason, we can all agree that trees are pretty amazing. Discover more of their inherent beauty through these appreciative tree quotes.
"In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful."
- Alice Walker
"Being a mountain boy, I have always understood the importance of trees, animals and nature for a human being."
- Jubin Nautiyal
"If someone were to think that trees are made to support the sky, they would all seem too short."
- Franz Grillparzer
"Under trees, the urban dweller might restore his troubled soul and find the blessing of a creative pause."
- Walter Gropius
"Trees go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!"
- John Muir
"I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything. The sun came up like gold through the trees, and I felt like I was in heaven."
- Harriet Tubman
"If you're in a forest, the quality of the echo is very strange because echoes back off so many surfaces of all those trees that you get this strange, itchy ricochet effect."
- Brian Eno
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."
- John Muir
Listen to the trees as they sway in the wind. Their leaves are telling secrets. Their bark sings songs of olden days as it grows around the trunks. And their roots give names to all things. Their language has been lost. But not the gestures.
~ Vera Nazarian
Tree Quotes About Life And Living
A tree is a symbol of life. It represents growth, strength, and stability. Trees provide shade and shelter from the elements. They are a source of food and medicine. Trees are beautiful and give us oxygen to breathe. They are integral to the environment and the health of our planet.
When we think about trees, we often think about the physical attributes of trees – their size, height, leaves, and branches. But trees also have a lot to say about life and living, and here are some of the most memorable tree quotes about life and living:
"If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees."
- Khalil Gibran
"I'm always trying to see the forest for the trees. I try to look at broader brushstrokes and focus on what we can be happy about. That's my nature."
- Margaret Hoover
"Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick the fruit."
- Anton Chekhov
"Learn from nature. Stuff lives and stuff dies all the time, you know. Animals and birds and flowers. Trees come and go, and we come and go. That's it. So we should all seize life and make the most of what we have while we can."
- Joanna Lumley
"A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit."
- D. Elton Trueblood
"Consider a tree for a moment. As beautiful as trees are to look at, we don't see what goes on underground - as they grow roots. Trees must develop deep roots in order to grow strong and produce their beauty. But we don't see the roots. We just see and enjoy the beauty. In much the same way, what goes on inside of us is like the roots of a tree."
- Joyce Meyer
"You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters."
- Saint Bernard
Tree Quotes From Art And Literature
In art and literature, trees have been a subject of fascination for centuries. Some of the most famous poems about trees were written by some of history's most celebrated authors, and poets wrote some of the most famous poems about trees.
An example is a poem by A. E. Housman, ‘Loveliest of trees, the cherry now.’ It describes how a man reflects on his life and the changes he faces. He realizes that life is not always easy, but there's beauty in that knowledge. It is proof that nature can be found in something as simple as the changing seasons.
Trees stand for growth and strength, no matter the circumstances for a person - or tree. Take inspiration from other artists and poets from this curated list of tree quotes from art and literature.
"I had always planned to make a large painting of the early spring, when the first leaves are at the bottom of the trees, and they seem to float in space in a wonderful way. But the arrival of spring can't be done in one picture."
- David Hockney
"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything."
- William Shakespeare
"Like people, trees are all individuals."
- David Hockney
"People don't remember each tree in a park but all of us benefit from the trees. And in a way, artists are like trees in a park."
- Yoko Ono
"Songs are special. Songs are like trees. You plant these seeds and watch them grow, and you never know how people are going to respond. That's one of the most beautiful things about music."
- Isom Innis
"Literatures, like trees and plants, are born of a land and in it flourish and die. But literatures, also like plants, may be carried abroad to take root in a foreign soil."
- Octavio Paz
"If I try to articulate every little detail in a drawing, it would be like missing the forest for the trees, so it's just about getting the outline of the forest."
- Jeff Koons
"Nature is my springboard. From her I get my initial impetus. I have tried to relate the visible drama of mountains, trees, and bleached fields with the fantasy of wind blowing and changing colors and forms."
- Milton Avery
"Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky."
- Kahlil Gibran
"Of all man's works of art, a cathedral is greatest. A vast and majestic tree is greater than that."
- Henry Ward Beecher
The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.
~ William Blake
Trees do not preach learning and precepts. They preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.
~ Herman Hesse
A cold wind was blowing from the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things.
~ George R.R. Martin
Inspirational Tree Quotes And Sayings To Make You Resilient
The mesquite tree is one of the world's most resilient trees. It can grow in the harshest desert conditions and withstand severe drought. The tree's deep roots help it to access groundwater, and its thick bark protects it from heat and fire.
Mesquite trees are also highly efficient at converting sunlight into energy, making them an important food source and shelter for wildlife.
In addition, the wood is extremely hard and durable, making it ideal for furniture and construction. The mesquite tree is a true survivor, and its many benefits make it an important part of the ecosystem.
May you learn from the resiliency of the mesquite tree and apply it to your life. To give you more motivation, here are some inspirational quotes about trees so we may learn to appreciate our world in a new way:
"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit."
- Nelson Henderson
"The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
"This oak tree and me, we're made of the same stuff."
- Carl Sagan
"He that plants trees, loves others besides himself."
- Thomas Fuller
"For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver."
- Martin Luther
"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"A man doesn't plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity."
- Alexander Smith
"In a forest of a hundred thousand trees, no two leaves are alike. And no two journeys along the same path are alike."
- Paulo Coelho
"Alone with myself The trees bend to caress me The shade hugs my heart."
- Candy Polgar
"Anyone who thinks fallen leaves are dead has never watched them dancing on a windy day."
- Shira Tamir
"He who plants a tree, plants a hope."
- Lucy Larcom
"The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy."
- Henry Ward Beecher
Never say there is nothing beautiful in the world anymore. There is always something to make you wonder in the shape of a tree, the trembling of a leaf.
~ Albert Schweitzer
Short Tree Captions For Instagram
Many people are familiar with the story of The Wizard of Oz, but not everyone knows that the apple trees played an important role in the tale. In the original novel, the apple trees were Wicked Witch's allies, and she used them to attack Dorothy and her companions. However, in the film version, producers changed the apple trees to friendly characters who helped Dorothy defeat the Wicked Witch.
The film's apple trees symbolize the power of good over evil. They represent the strength of friendship and teamwork and remind us that even the smallest act of kindness can make a difference.
Here is the final list of tree quotes that you may post on Instagram to cap up this best set of tree quotes.
"Storms make trees take deeper roots."
- Dolly Parton
"I am just a person who adores trees."
- Johan Eliasch
"Trees and plants always look like the people they live with, somehow."
- Zora Neale Hurston
"The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit."
- Moliere
"Nature is my church. The wind in the trees and the bugs and the frogs. All those things are comfort to me."
- Sissy Spacek
"Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven."
- Rabindranath Tagore
"Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong."
- Winston Churchill
"I grew up barefoot, dirty, climbing trees. It made me appreciate things more."
- Elle King
"I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do."
- Willa Cather
Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year.
~ Chad Sugg
Be like a tree. The tree gives shade even to him who cuts off its boughs.
~ Sri Chaitanya
