I love trees! Thankfully our new house has three trees. The previous owners took care of them as they grew, so they even look good. (As opposed to my previous house where generations of previous owners failed to help their trees and therefore allowed them to grow into ugly, unhealthy mangled messes- so I cut them down).
So I was excited yesterday to see the sign in front of Ace Hardware advertising 75% off all live goods. I found two nice pin oaks without price tags. I offered $30 for one of them and the manager sold it to me for $20!!!!! I am going back today to buy the other. Sometime this week I will plant them in the yard, support them with stakes, and wait, wait, wait!
But I have some hesitation. You see, I have watched trees die. A few years ago, the local garden club purchased about 100 trees and donated them to the city. Their goal was to plant them along the main highway that runs through Raymore. I assume they envisioned a future that highlighted trunks and leaves rather than roofs and galvanized light poles. I watched the city employees plant the trees in groups of three along the well-traveled two-mile stretch of road. They placed supports around the trees spread mulch along their bases to maintain moisture. I even saw them water the trees a few times during the hot summer months. That was two years ago. A few days ago I looked for the trees and noticed only a few still growing. These poor trees experienced a 90% mortality rate. I imagine that the garden club is horrified.
No, I am not trying to blame anyone. I have no intention of criticizing city workers. They do a great job. They planted the trees they were told to plant. But how is it that the garden club trees are mostly dead? They died because no one took a personal interest in these trees. I imagine that garden club members spend hours every week maintaing their home landscaping, flowers, and lawns. They get personal with their plants, and therefore they maintain them with nurture and care. But in the case of the trees, they gave money and someone else got their hands dirty. The city employees did a job- plant and water some trees. Those trees were no different than any other tree growing on city-owned property. No one took a personal interest in those trees- so only the strongest survived.
My trees will be different. I paid for them. I will plant them myself. They will beautify or uglify my yard. I choose the beautify option, so I will take care of them. I will get personal!
