THE TREES/SHRUBS OF MY LIFE

 

          As most of us know, when developers move into an area, the first things to disappear are the trees. I think that was pretty much the case with my little area when it was developed and my house built. The previous owners had attempted to rectify the lack of trees. During their year’s residence, they planted five Japanese plum and two Japanese cherry trees plus three apple trees, one grafted cherry tree that provided three different kinds of cherries (when the birds didn’t get there first), plus the Christmas tree from their last Christmas here.

I don’t know if they planted the six popular trees along the back fence, but I don’t think so. They were fairly tall when we moved in. Every time someone came into our back yard, they’d exclaim, “You need to get rid of those before one falls on your house.” So, we did and I now wonder if they would have ever fallen because the majority of other popular trees in the area are still standing. I loved the way the popular leaves littered my back yard in the fall.

Over time, the two Japanese cherry trees were the first to go. One Japanese plum followed to make room for the child slide off the deck. Another plum was overwhelmed by Grandma Ebba’s grape vine and the Chinese wisteria…both of which have now grown into the greenbelt behind the fence. The Christmas tree remains at the end of the driveway.

          When AJ was a baby and I was a stay-at-home wife/mother, I went out one morning to hang a fresh wash on the line. When I opened the back door, the largest apple tree of the three, had fallen over due to an over abundance of small apples. It’s branches prevented me from leaving the garage. When John came home from work, he and a neighbor used a chain-fall to hoist it back into place. Three four-by-four posts held it in place for many years while it continued to provide the best apples I think I’ve ever had. This tree survives to this day although I haven’t had any apples for years. AJ, Haley and I pruned it down to the stubs a few years ago. Perhaps a mistake because it takes up about one-third of my entire back garden now. The tree expert and his minions will prune it back next winter; and, hopefully, that may kick it into producing fruit again…provided it’s warm enough for the bees show up to do their job

          At some point during the years, the cherry tree died due to whatever tends to infect them. After John’s death, I had the delicious apple tree and the Jonathan apple trees cut down. Their apples, few and far between always had maggots, so why keep them.

          Over the years, I’ve added trees to the garden. The first was a red maple a former friend gave me. It had been planted in a five-gallon bucket by her mother and sat on my friend’s deck forever. I brought it home and planted it at the southwest corner of the property. No internet then, so how was I supposed to know it would become this huge giant that Seattle City Light’s tree pruners took great delight in pruning so that when they were done it was all lop-sided. I understand the importance of keeping tree branches out of the power lines; but really, would it have been that much more difficult to leave it with a pleasing shape?

          This spring I noticed this red maple seemed to be having a problem. I called in the tree experts and was told it was suffering from a fungal infection, probably due to the triple digit hot weather we had in 2021.  I love that tree and it shades almost the entire house so I paid to have it treated and the dead wood cut out. It will get another treatment this fall and my fingers are crossed that when it comes time to leaf out in the spring that it will unfurl nothing but huge happy leaves. If not, the tree folks may be back to cut it completely down. That will make me very sad.

          The second addition was a black walnut tree a neighbor gave me. I couldn’t believe how fast it grew and continued to grow no matter how much I cut it back. I could more than fill up the garden waste container in the spring and then have to do it a time or to more before winter arrived. It was horribly messy and we never used the walnuts, but the squirrels loved it and that included the bark they’d strip off the limbs. I finally had it cut down and the tall stump now supports a beautiful clematis every spring.

          When my mother passed away, I was gifted two trees, both of which I had wanated. The first was a magnolia which provides me with beautiful lilac cup-shaped flowers in the spring. The other was a pink dogwood which hasn’t ever done terribly well, but I keep hoping it will surprise me one spring with a huge cloud of pink blossoms and in the fall with its red cherry-like fruits.

          As I stated in the beginning, my house was only about six years old when we moved in…pretty bare except for the small trees I mentioned above. Besides the trees, I’ve also added some shrubs which I find very pleasing.

          Memory may not be serving me well here and John isn’t available to ask, but I think the double-lilacs in both the front and back gardens came from either his mother’s or grandmother’s yards. They’ve become huge even though over the years I’ve hacked away at them. There’s also a dark single purple lilac in the back which came from John’s sister’s yard. Now they’re so tall, it’s hard for me to reach any of the blossoms and create a bouquet to bring in the house. I love the way they smell and could breathe that fragrance in for days and days.

          Great Auntie Lola gave me a start of her fuchsia bush, again, decades ago. It has remained in the same place since then and returns every spring and delights me with it’s purple-red blossoms and the memories I have of this wonderful woman…the humming birds love it too.

          I already mentioned that John’s grandma gave us the grape vine that grows with abandon no matter how much I hack at it. Besides growing up the trees in the greenbelt, it has almost covered the old chicken coop and has wandered its way down more than half the back fence. It doesn’t provide big grapes, but hundreds of clusters of small purple ones are very tasty.  One year my granddaughter picked buckets of them and I made grape jelly…haven’t done it since. Still, the birds, squirrels and raccoons (I think) love them too.

          At some point John hauled home some raspberry plants because he loved the fruit. His raspberry patch remains and I usually pick enough berries to make a batch of jam for the family. Of course, I had to buy the fruit when John was alive because he’d go out each morning and pick ripe ones for his cereal until the vines stopped producing. The last few years, these plants have made a dedicated effort to move beyond their allotted patch. Again, I hack away only to have them return again and again.

          I wonder if my kids and grandkids will read this post and look about the garden and reflect on the trees that remain when my time to cross over the Rainbow Bridge (or is it only doggies that can go over the Rainbow Bridge?) comes. Hopefully, this little history will bring a smile, or even, the best yet, cause them to take a cutting or dig up a small portion for their own gardens.