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
Tulip Tree. Image from Wikipedia.
Rowan tree in Helsinki, Finland. Image from Wikipedia.
3 comments:
I've been a member for years. When your trees show up, they will be sticks. Wanted to warn you of that. Once they arrive, you will removed them from the gel stuff they ship them in and put them in a bucket of water until they can be planted. Yes, they're about 5-6" high.
I've given most of mine away, since I have a small yard. I have an Eastern Redbud that grew about 3 feet per year until a sudden, early freeze made it explode. I cut it down to the ground, and now the new growth is about 6' tall.
There's something cool about planting a 'stick' and watching it grow into a big healthy tree. The oaks I've planted, of course, won't be full size until my future grandchildren get on social security, but that's also part of the coolness factor.
Kudos on joining the National Arbor Day Foundation....they're a great organization and do a lot of good, in my opinion.
Thanks OHG. I had ordered a plant online once before, and Ted had a good laugh because it was just a 10-inch stick when it arrived. Within a year, it was taller than he was--a banisteriopsis caapi vine. I put it on the deck of the condo last summer to get some extra sun, and fried it badly. We still mourn the loss of The Stick.
I do have some pretty realistic expectations of what I'll get from the Arbor Day Foundation. Luckily, I already have several really big trees in the yard. :-)
Wow! Thank you for this information. I will try to spread the word. We need more trees!!!
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