A Tree Story: Introduction

This weekend I got it in my head that we were going to buy and plant a tree. So I'm trying to document the process and share it with you fine folks. This will be an introduction to our story.

I've wanted to do something different in our backyard for a long time now. It is basically a scorched-earth wasteland that gets baked into oblivion during the summer. I have hopes that a couple trees could be the answer, providing shade to the rest of the yard and maybe even allowing a little grass to grow. Plus, planting trees is a nice thing to do for the earth and hopefully (providing I don't kill them in this process) they will be enjoyed by many families who live in our neighborhood for generations to come.

I made it clear at the nursery that I was not to be trusted with plants and needed idiot-proof trees and directions on what to do with them. The owner of the nursery helped us himself, picking out two trees and giving us the details on how to get them in the ground. We ended up with a cherry tree and an oak tree. Someday, theoretically, they will look like this:

Yoshino Cherry Tree

Willow Oak Tree

I tried to buy the biggest trees I could get. Newsflash: Big trees aren't cheap! Second newsflash: big trees require digging... a really big hole.

Apparently planting a tree is all about getting the hole right in the first place. The hole is recommended to be at least twice the width of the container and as deep. For the oak tree, this meant we were digging a four foot wide and nearly two foot deep hole. And be "we" I mean mostly Ben. My back injury - instigated, as a matter of fact, by my last attempt at landscaping - prevented me from being very helpful.

One man... many shovels... WILL Ben succeed in his task? WHAT will happen to our trees? Cliffhanger! Stay tuned for more on our tree-venture, next time with pictures!