10 Trees = $10

I just joined the Arbor Day Foundation, and for my $10 membership I shall receive 10 trees from the Wild Bird Garden collection: a red oak, a river birch, a sargent crabapple, a Washington Hawthorn, a tulip tree, two Canadian hemlock, an arrowwood viburnum, a gray dogwood, and a bur oak. I had a choice between these or a flowering tree collection, or all oaks, or all pines, or an autumn classics collection, or one of a few other combos, but this sounded like a good mix.

Tulip Tree. Image from Wikipedia.

Okay, I know they'll probably only be four or five inches tall when they get here in April, but I'm working with a strict budget this year, people. The trees will go in pots in the yard until they grow big enough to fend for themselves and I can decide where to put them. Some will go against the house as part of the foundation planting, others will highlight various nooks and crannies in the yard. I'm sure it will be years before they are sturdy enough to support any Wild Birds, however.

For good measure, I ordered a rowan tree as well to plant by the front door. According to Northern European folklore--my peeps are from Finland and Poland--a rowan tree will protect your home from evil, from witches, from bad fairies, from fires, and from lightning strikes. Sounds like a cheap insurance policy to me. The wood is also good for dowsing rods, magic wands, and magician's staves.

Rowan tree in Helsinki, Finland. Image from Wikipedia.

The true meaning of life is to plant trees,
under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
—Nelson Henderson

Growing Oranges in Chicagoland

I made my first pre-purchase for the garden this week. Now, growing citrus trees in Northern Illinois doesn't sound like the smartest thing to try with our harsh winters (we're in gardening Zone 5), but I found this company that sells patio-sized trees you take indoors to overwinter.

Stark Bro's in Missouri sells a Citrus Garden Assortment of four different fruit trees: Valencia Orange, Tangerine, Meyeri Lemon, and Key Lime. Aren't they adorable? They'll arrive the first or second week in April, and I think we'll put them at the front entrance of The Box House, by the stairs. The house faces south, so I'm pretty sure they'll receive enough light.

With all of the other expenses that come with the first year of living in a new house, we've given ourselves a pretty tight budget for the garden and will probably only be able to focus on a few things, like the entryway and general cleanup. Most of our grand schemes--the fish pond, the flowering trees--will have to wait until this fall or even next year.

It looks like the bulk of this summer will be spent prepping the ground and taming or removing the shrubs that are already here. I think most of them are going--including the two-story evergreen tree that's practically growing out of the foundation. The dense row of shrubs in front of the house blocks all of the natural light coming into the basement--believe it or not, there are some very large windows just above ground level. So those bushes will have to go, too, as much as I hate the idea of removing greenery; I think we should be able to handle the bushes ourselves, if not the evergreen tree. (Before anyone asks, all the trees in the parkway stay.)

I would love to hear from anyone who has taken out a large tree themselves. Is it worth the effort and hassle? Just how hard will it be to dig out a root ball? Or is a tree as large as this evergreen a good candidate for a professional?

The photo shows Mom in front of The Box House on the day we closed.