No, this is not a post about Alzheimer’s, although with such a title, one might think so.
Years ago I read one of those quotable quotations, and I know the author was mentioned, but over the years I’ve simply forgotten who said it or wrote it to begin with.
One day, a woman knelt beside her house.
A man ran up and said, “What would you do if you knew that you would die within the next hour?”
She looked up, smiled, and said, “I’d finish planting this tree.”
I thought about this because someone commented about yesterday’s post, saying that between hurricanes and tornados, they hadn’t a tree left in their yard.
What to do?
My advice would be to plant a forest. A single tree here and there can be bowled over by the wind. As trees are grouped together, though, they seem to provide protection to each other.
My neighbors up the hill have a grove in their whole front yard. The only mowing they ever have to do is around the edges. It's wonderful!While a single tree spreading over an open field might be a beautiful, even awe-inspiring sight, that tree is highly susceptible to lightning damage. As trees cluster together, though, leaving enough room for roots and canopy, they divide the danger and multiply the benefits.
If you can’t plant a forest, at least try for a grove. One or two tall native species trees, intermingled with four or five lower-story trees can create a natural picnic spot (in about twenty years). And some lovely shade well before then.
I have a bunch of Arbor Day trees, native to Georgia, that I received seven years ago in return for a small donation. I now have yard chairs underneath a couple of them, and the shade is restful indeed.
A single tree is like a single bee.
BEEattitude for Day #584:
Blessed are those who plant trees that flower, for we bees shall help those trees (and those people) thrive.
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The teeny details:
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4 comments:
What a refreshing photo - made me forget the humid muggy outside this morning & I was cool just looking at those gorgeous beauties at that house! Wish I could wiggle my nose and our yard would look like that .....
Yeah, and they grow a wonderful fig tree in their back yard. - It started yielding lots of figs the year I got my bees.
There's a lot to be said for pollination!
The lady who used to live across the street from us had fig trees - I used to can 'strawberry fig preserves' every year .... sure makes me want to plant them in our yard ...
A fig tree sounds like a great choice for tree #1 in your "new" yard.
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