“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness upon the face of the deep…”
…and then, trees were planted!
It’s not all too often I am able to really create a lasting collection of trees in an area, though an opportunity came up recently to do just this. I was absolutely delighted to be involved in this project (creating a small arboretum of 20 trees), and the reaction from residents has already been wonderful.
Species selection was limited from the beginning for two reasons: (1) the site is characteristically very wet, and (2) the nursery had sold a lot of this planting year’s stock before this project was planned (from start to finish, it took just three weeks, and began in late January). Regardless, a challenge is good, and I am confident that the final result will be highly impressive.
So what has gone in at this location? Given the nature of the site, a lot of what was planted is tolerant of wetter soils. Alnus glutinosa ‘Imperialis’, Alnus glutinosa ‘Laciniata’, Alnus incana ‘Aurea’, Alnus spaethii, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Metasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Goldrush’, Populus nigra, Quercus palustris, and Taxodium distichum therefore comprise much of the planting scheme. However, on areas of slightly drier and higher ground Acer buergerianum, Acer rubrum, Juglans regia, Liquidambar styraciflua, Quercus frainetto, Tilia tomentosa ‘Brabant’, Tilia tomentosa ‘Petiolaris’, and Zelkova serrata ‘Green Vase’ have been planted.
I’ll try to keep a tabs on this planting project and share photos of how the trees fare across the coming years, though for now we can simply observe but a few photos of the day of creation. I sincerely hope as many as possible make it into maturity, and really grace the area for future generations who live nearby.
Arboriculture 