Sunday, June 6, 2010

Don't Step There!

I'll never forget the first time I laid eyes on an Ever Red Laceleaf Maple tree. It was a magnificent specimen, sitting in a gigantic tub that was placed in the entryway of a favorite nursery. As we drove in, I said to Joe, "We need not look further; I'd like THAT!" Okay....

"How much will the tub maple cost us, please?" we asked of the attendant. "One thousand dollars." Gag. "Um, do you have a smaller, less expensive one?" said I, in my meekest voice. And soooooooooo, we headed home with a little, spindly one-hundred-dollar version. It has grown by leaps and bounds, and what you see pictured above has been sliced in half by heavy snow and trimmed to oblivion by moi. It would cover our picnic table by now, if we allowed it to go wild. Worth maybe two grand, ya think? Jeesh. Give me a break.

We've since added another by purchase... and many by propagation. We need not do a thing. Little seed pods scatter and grow, even in rock
beds. We must step carefully.

It's raining today. Our gardens needed a wet day; and I needed a lazy one.

Good Sunday.