Funny thing, time. Every moment seems so hardened, so written. But the sum of the moments seems so brief, so fleeting. It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but the time is near. Something will happen here soon, I promise. Something you might like.
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After having a new roof installed the landlord decided it was time for the very large Arizona ash in the front yard to go. I hated to see such a large majestic tree chopped down to a stump.
It’s hard to get an idea of it’s expanse in winter without it’s leaves. It was a truly gargantuan tree. It hurt to watch, knowing my elderly neighbor planted that tree over 30 years ago. He paid $1.93 for it.
Now…
After a bit of research and a long discussion with the Crestview gardeners I decided a Lacey Oak (Quercus laceyi) was a good replacement tree. It’s in the white oak family, so resistant to oak wilt. The canopy and height is a bit smaller than other oaks. It tolerates alkaline and clay soils, which I have in abundance! Plus I’m intrigued by the blue-gray hue of the leaves. We dug and used a pick axe to cut some roots, eh voila! A new tree was planted!
The hole was “ugly”, as prescribed by Howard Garrett, and much much wider than deep. Only as deep as the rootball is the rule. A boatload of St. Augustine was removed, mostly filtered by hand by me. Can’t have that competing for my Lacey’s nutrients! Ladybug Sylvan mulch is the berm. I’m hoping the sylvan mulch will provide extra microbial activity. There were a fair amount of earthworms in the soil already, so I think it’s healthy, even though it’s mostly heavy clay. I’ll leave the stake attached until after the first few spring thunderstorms and when I see abundant leaves sprouting.
One day, she’ll be a big tree for someone to enjoy.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/growgreen/plantguide/viewdetails.cfm?plant_id=62
A place where I can voice my many incarnations. Enjoy.