A study was conducted in farmers living in central highlands of Ethiopia to assess how they perceive the forest products scarcity and their views concerning tree planting in their rural landscapes as a remedy to the problem. Further, the tree planting methods they chose were elicited with the underlying reasons. It was found out that there is an acute scarcity of forest products among the community living in central highlands of Ethiopia. The scarcity perception is influenced by the proximity to the remnant forest resources. The farther away the farm households are from the state forest, the more they perceive the scarcity problem. Other factors like settlement history and tenure conditions also play a vital role on the farmers scarcity rating. Farmers have selected tree planting in their areas as the best choice to alleviate the scarcity problem. However, still about one-third of the farmers failed to choose tree planting as a solution due to land shortage. The small-scale woodlots followed by boundary tree planting were chosen as the best methods to increase the declined tree components of the landscape. The current market demand for construction wood, the familiarity of the farmers only to few fast growing species, the effect of the trees on the crops and the spatial arrangements of the trees in relation to crops were among the major factors that affect the choice of tree planting methods.