Well, it's a people of dreamers. Trees are expensive. Installing trees in an established yard is a big, lengthy job. Which make it an expensive job also.
However, if you are lucky enough to know of the location of some cheap forestry, you might be able to talk your husband into digging a gigantic hole and planting a sapling that will look just like you imagined (in about 10 or 15 years).
I am one of the latter crowd. We have a fence row of trees that could use some space to grow to their full potential, but digging up a tree, even a small one, and replanting it somewhere fabulous would take way too much work.
Today, though, we happened into a very fortunate situation. The next door neighbor brought home a mini excavator to do some landscaping work in his yard. He offered it to us, because he was keeping it all week. We decided to take advantage of the proposition.
My husband and I walked out to the treeline and chose a good size pin oak that had a couple of smaller trees of to either side. Then the neighbor dug the tree up in a matter of minutes, being sure to get the roots as best he could. We used our tractor to transport the tree to the front yard.
After that, my husband brought the excavator to the front yard and used the bucket to dig a four or five foot hole. What he did in minutes would have taken us an hour or more to do by hand. It was amazing. The power and ease of the excavator was something to witness. I still can't believe it. I think it was four scoops of the bucket and we were ready to place the tree.
After attaching a chain to the bucket of the excavator and wrapping the trunk in towels, we placed the tree in the hole, turning it and positioning it until it was just right. Todd used the excavator bucket to push dirt back in the hole while the oldest boy and I used shovels to help fill in gaps. D said, "
The whole project was finished within an hour. We celebrated with a high five (my husband and I are nerds like that) and smiles all around.
There is no way we would have ever been able to afford a tree like this from a nursery or landscaping company. It is a lovely thing. This tree will always be a bit more special because we planted it ourselves...almost by hand.
I love trees all around us. Most of ours were planted when they were small so we’ve waited years for them to grow. What a great way to get a new tree for your yard. Your neighbor was gracious to offer the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteWe have THE BEST neighbors!
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