# Tree in middle of driveway pics **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 15, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844 "2006-06-15T19:07:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jombi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f19dbf/32.png) [@Jombi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jombi)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/1 "2006-06-15T19:07:19Z")
You’ve probably seen these pictures on Leno’s Headlines segment or on the net somewhere. It’s a stock photo of a suburban house, used to sell something like siding or whatever. Neat, well manicured home. The only problem is there is no driveway leading from the garage and instead there is a large tree planted right in front of the garage door. I’ve seen these a few times, and they’re presented as “Whoa! What a goof! Somebody screwed up that picture!” But really, how does this picture come about? I assume it’s all done digitally and there are not actual houses like this, but why would some artist make such a dumb error and nobody ever realizes? My only guess: This work is done in some third world country where they don’t even realize that’s a garage door and that there should be a driveway leading from it. So they plop a pretty tree in the front yard and send the pic to some third-rate advertising house in America. Any other theories? Anybody even know what I’m talking about? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/2 "2006-06-15T19:19:40Z")
I have not seen the photo you’re thinking of but when I was house shopping, I saw a model home where they had outfitted the garage to use as the builder’s sales office. It had no driveway and I think the wall was bricked up where you might normally expect to see garage doors. No tree, though. I asked about it and they said that when the properties were all sold they would retrofit the model, turning the office back into the garage, and sell it. It’s the only one I saw like that so it may be an unusual practice. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/3 "2006-06-15T19:35:51Z")
Haven’t seen the photo, but it would be easy to photshop such a thing. I dont understand why you think the artist would have to be confused, ad company comes up with idea, graphic artist produces requested image. Simple. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/4 "2006-06-15T19:41:24Z")
Ok I dont read very well. I assumed the ad was using the image to make a point. The original ad probably did just that and the image has been taken by someone else and presented as a goof. Not that its impossible that such a blunder could go unnoticed, there are far too many bad products that show it can happen. ---
**Author:** ![BlackHeart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c77e96/32.png) [@BlackHeart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackHeart)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/5 "2006-06-15T20:04:42Z")
Jombi. Post a link. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/6 "2006-06-15T20:12:36Z")
I haven’t seen it, anyone got a link? Is it possible that the garage has been converted into a workshop or office, and the garage door is no longer used? Perhaps there’s a carport or new detached garage elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/7 "2006-06-15T20:22:40Z")
Haven’t seen the pic either. However, I _have_ seen plenty of situations where a nice tree was worked around, including decks/porches built around a pre-existing tree. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/8 "2006-06-15T20:30:34Z")
It’s possible the software has an automatic generation scheme for foliage that decided to plant a tree right there. IIRC, way back when [Bryce](http://bryce.daz3d.com/55index.php) was a popular package for generating terrain landscapes. You would specify that trees would go in _this_ general area, and you would automatically get a forest of hundreds of quite realistic fractally generated trees, just never in the same place twice. It’s quite possible the artists specified that trees should appear in areas x, y and z, (one of which included the driveway) and one just happened to be there the time he rendered it for printing and distribution. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/9 "2006-06-15T20:39:35Z")
Are you thinking of [this picture](http://www.boomersfunnies.com/Pictures/Pole%20Driveway.jpg)? I’ve read an explanation about it before but I can’t remember where. It’s a real picture but I don’t remember what the explanation was other than that it had to be done that way. ---
**Author:** ![vertizontal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ad7895/32.png) [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/10 "2006-06-15T21:02:16Z")
> [@](#): > > I saw a model home where they had outfitted the garage to use as the builder’s sales office. It had no driveway and I think the wall was bricked up where you might normally expect to see garage doors. No tree, though. I asked about it and they said that when the properties were all sold they would retrofit the model, turning the office back into the garage, and sell it. > > It’s the only one I saw like that so it may be an unusual practice. I’ve seen many model homes like that here in the 'burbs (also without a tree). > [@](#): > > It’s a stock photo of a suburban house, used to sell something like siding or whatever. I assume that when they were creating the ad for the paper, they said “find a picture of a house with siding, and put it here”. And the person at the paper who actually set up the ad just picked any photo of a house from their archives, without paying any attention to how goofy it might look. So maybe someone bought the model home, the room was never converted into a garage, someone planted a tree, and someone eventually took a picture of the house, which somehow made its way into an ad for siding. I dunno. It might be a funny bit for Jay to show that ad, and then go out to the house and ask the current owner what’s going on. OK, not actually funny, but maybe mildly amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Jombi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f19dbf/32.png) [@Jombi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jombi)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/11 "2006-06-16T19:40:20Z")
Trying to find a pic to link, but no luck so far. Sorry. The pic would help a lot because apparently I’m not giving you the right image for you to work with. To establish a couple helpful points: It’s not a real pic of a real house. It’s more of a color drawing or computer rendering. So I don’t think any explanation that has to do with why a real house might have a tree there will apply. (Tremorviolet, it’s not that pic. But thanks.) It’s an advertising rendering of a generic nice surburban house, not a real house somewhere. When the pic was shown on Leno (and I’ve seen it elsewehre, maybe that blooper section in Consumer Reports) it was presented as an ad that showed something ridiculous, and which leaves you wondering what in the world they were thinking. Nanoda’s explanation of the computer software that plunked a tree there makes the most sense from the image I’ve seen. But it still leaves the question of why no one noticed something so obviously wrong. You guys are quite helpful considering I seem to be only one who has seen the pic. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/12 "2006-06-16T20:35:20Z")
I think that it was used in Jay Lenos’s schitck. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/13 "2006-06-16T21:07:58Z")
Taliesin was built with a tree in a room. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/14 "2006-06-16T21:08:18Z")
Is this the one you saw on Jay Leno [Linkity link](http://www.nbc.com/nbc/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/headlines/H_3130/33.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/15 "2006-06-16T21:46:48Z")
A [house that isn’t a house at all, but rather an electrical substation](http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/transformer-houses.html) could have a tree in the driveway to no ill effect. ---
**Author:** ![Jombi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f19dbf/32.png) [@Jombi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jombi)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/16 "2006-06-17T13:55:16Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Is this the one you saw on Jay Leno > > [Linkity link](http://www.nbc.com/nbc/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/headlines/H_3130/33.shtml) Actually no, but pretty close. It illustrates pretty much the same situation – an obviously wierd arrangement presented by the advertiser as if no one knows it’s odd. Thanks for the link. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2006, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/17 "2006-06-18T06:28:19Z")
FWIW, I remember, as a kid, exploring the outer reaches my neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY and discovering a fire hydrant that had been planted in the middle of a driveway curb cut. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/18 "2006-06-18T14:56:36Z")
> [@stuyguy](#): > > FWIW, I remember, as a kid, exploring the outer reaches my neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY and discovering a fire hydrant that had been planted in the middle of a driveway curb cut. You must be [awfully young](http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/424820p-358271c.html)! ---
**Author:** ![EvilGhandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@EvilGhandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilGhandi)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/19 "2006-06-18T20:03:46Z")
I’ve worked on a couple projects where a blocked/no driveway was the outcome. One, a homeowner hired an unlicenced contractor to renovate. The contractor extended the garage and widened the driveway. He told the owner "all you have to do is call the city to come move the phone pole when we finish. You can guess what the city said. Another involved adding a garage to a house that originally had a small side drive with a covered carport. Following setback code would have allowed us to build an enclosed garage that was about five feet wide. Luckily it was a corner house so we just built in the back yard with the intention of making the back into a front yard and the side drive into a small back yard. Unfortunately the owner ran out of money and wound up with a garage door right next to his sliding glass patio door and a dirt path to park on. ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2006, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844/20 "2006-06-20T15:01:22Z")
> [@Jombi](#): > > You’ve probably seen these … somewhere. It’s a stock photo of a suburban house, used to sell something like siding or whatever. Neat, well manicured home. The only problem is there is no driveway leading from the garage and instead there is a large tree planted right in front of the garage door. There is a real estate ad on the city buses with a picture of a house with garage but no driveway, just landscaping. They must of spend over a hundred grand on a stupid drawing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tree-in-middle-of-driveway-pics/360844.md?page=2)