Folks on Garlock Way are sitting in tall cotton, and they aren't very happy about it.

   Seems a rogue cottonwood tree is living up to its name, dumping piles of the white stuff all over neighboring driveways, lawns and gardens.

   Similar cotton harvests are occurring in neighborhoods statewide. Luckily for Garlock residents, the tree's owner is trying to help as best he can.

   But experts say little can be done, short of turning a tree into toothpicks, to dissuade a cottonwood that launches into bloom.

   "From time to time, in certain years, some cottonwood trees seem to spew a lot of cotton," said Paul Smith, Colorado Springs' city forester. "In fact, I just got a call from Greeley where they are addressing the same issue."

   On Garlock Way, near Dublin Boulevard and Interstate 25, the culprit that's pumping out cotton is a towering cottonwood in Ruben Gonzales' front yard. A previous owner of the home planted the tree years ago, neighbors say. It has a thick trunk and a massive canopy that, for years, has stretched over next-door neighbor Kathy Reading's driveway.

   Recently, it started producing cotton like never before.

   "It's so messy," Reading said. "It's been really annoying. Cotton is everywhere. It goes in my garage, in my hot tub room, all over my driveway."

   Cleaning mounds of tree dandruff is not how Reading envisioned her retirement when she moved here three years ago from her native Orange County, Calif. There, she enjoyed aromatic eucalyptus trees, as well as orange and lemon trees.

   Gonzales' front yard cotton factory is upsetting old-timers on Garlock, as well. Flora and Henry Goudeau have lived there since their house was built in 1976. They are miffed at the tree.

   "It's shedding like crazy," said Flora, who is allergic to the tree's byproduct (a tad ironic, given her name).

   "It's really terrible," she said. "There are little cotton balls flying all over the place. It's like snow out there."

   And it's not just the poufy white stuff that gets on neighbors' nerves. The seed pods are equally frustrating.

   "They crunch like oatmeal," Reading said.

   Reading and the Goudeaus were so upset with the bumper crop of cotton descending on them that they wrote Gonzales and asked if he'd consider turning the tree into lumber.

   While he didn't want to lose his shade tree, Gonzales was sensitive to their concerns and is trying to help.

   Last week he got out a saw and began trimming the behemoth. Its limbs no longer droop over Reading's driveway, reducing some of the fallout.

   "He is a really nice guy," Reading said. "He was out in the heat trimming that tree."

   Flora Goudeau also praised Gonzales for his quick response. "After he received the letter, he got busy cleaning up and trimming the tree," she said. "It's really nice of him."

   Smith, the forester, said the only way to solve the tree's hyper-production of cotton is to remove the whole thing. And he said it might be a good idea, given the other problems cottonwoods pose to neighborhoods.

   "We don't like to plant cottonwoods for that reason," Smith said. "And they tend to be brittle-wooded trees. They get a lot of breakage. They can drop limbs on cars and houses. And because they are shallow-rooted, they tend to uplift sidewalks and break up curbs and gutters."

   As for the Garlock tree, it is only dropping cotton, not limbs. And the trimming will protect Reading's property from both.

   The best news: Smith says the shedding should end any day now. 

   Tell me about your neighborhood: 636-0193 or bill.vogrin@gazette.com