Trees

When I was a kid, our yard was covered with trees. My mom and dad went nuts planting trees around their new house. It was amazing that in just thirteen years, from the time they moved in to the day we moved out, those trees grew into giants. At least to little Alan they seemed to be giant. Most of them did grow up at least as tall as our house. That's one of the things I miss about my house in Florida. I had planted a live oak tree in the front yard the year I bought the place, and by the time I sold it that tree was very large. It hung over the driveway and had gobs of Spanish Moss dripping off its branches. I loved that tree so much that I planted another one on the other side of the driveway along with a cypress in the front courtyard. Now I have another new home, two years now, that was a blank slate. Not a single tree in the yard. Since I moved in I planted a ginko tree, a tiny Japanese Maple, and out on the parkway, I asked the city to plant a maple tree. The maple tree was delivered last summer and is doing well. As for that ginko tree in the back yard. It is now two years old. When I stuck it in the ground it came up to my belly button. It was just a tiny stick with roots. Last year it shot up to my chin and grew some very nice branches. As of yesterday, my ginko tree was as tall as I am, just under six feet. And to celebrate my little tree, I bought him a friend. I'm not sure if it's a girlfriend or boyfriend, what I do know is that it is an ornamental cherry tree. Meaning it will flower in the spring, but no cherries will actually form. Not that I don't like cherries, I just assume they would attract rats and be a bit messy. So now the ginko and the cherry trees will be able to grow up together and give me shade in the summer. I figure in about five years I'll have that shade, and in the fall, a lot of leaves to rake up.