All the yards around us have fences and all the yards also have zero privacy or trees. We want privacy, we want shade and we want trees! You have to start somewhere, so we began by planting trees.
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| backyard before move in, April 2010 |
Planting six trees ultimately meant digging six holes. Greg was not excited about this. Luckily, the ground was very soft from some rain and me watering the grass seed.
The first tree we planted was actually in our front yard. We wanted to add a flowering tree to the right side of our driveway (looking at our house). We picked up a very nice size Yoshino Flowering Cherry at Lowe's. This is how it got home:
That night we got to work digging and had the tree planted and staked in about 30 minutes. Not bad. We fertilized and watered immediately. We must be doing things right because a few days later, we have flowers budding :) The size is great to start and we are excited for possibly a somewhat shaded driveway come the fall.
Next up was the backyard. We knew we wanted to build at least one island and get some privacy as well. We planted the red maple from last week in the back left corner. Our plan is to find one more red maple to put back there. That tree is taking off also. Here are all the leaves that sprouted since last week.
We went to Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards and a few nurseries trying to decide what we wanted for the back right corner. If evergreens/pines were cheaper, that would have been our first choice. Unfortunately, we are trying to stay on budget and they were not the most cost effective tree. We looked at some flowering trees, but I was being very indecisive.
Saturday morning we went to Green Acres Nursery. They had just gotten a shipment of beautiful spruces in that were perfectly shaped. Not only were they a little too expensive, the growth rate isn't the fastest. We wandered around and I found a section of sale trees. Quaking Aspens; a great price and size. The saleswoman was trying to convince us they weren't that great of a tree and were very slow growing. Since we never jump on anything, we left and did our research. Everywhere on the internet, including Wikipedia, says they are fast growing and a great 'filler' tree. Perfect.
Back we went to purchase 3 of them and start arranging them in the corner. We moved them around a lot, and the final decision was that we needed 1 more! Then we finally got to work.
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| Our island will eventually encompass these trees |
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| Staking and watering |
We are happy with our purchases, but far from done in the landscaping category. Praying for good weather this weekend. Then again, if it rains, I guess that means we can finally finish tiling ;)
xo, Erin
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