Digging up a Juniper seedling – transplanting this very first seedling to begin a Tree Nursery !
How come I never thought of it before? After almost 40 years of gardening and landscaping, and after owning a landscape company for 13 of those years, how come I never began a tree (and other plants) nursery? It only makes sense!
Gotta be careful what I say; holy! I can manifest some things totally unawares until it’s sprung before my eyes. Spring of last year in 2013, as I stood about 15 feet in front of my studio, I decided it would be a good, natural (feng shui) barrier to have trees growing between the driveway and the front door of my studio, so I said “…it sure would be good to have a small forest right here…!” Lo and behold, exactly where I had stood, 3 aspen trees began to grow that Summer! I kid you not! And as if that wasn’t enough, I wanted more trees on the property, so I said: “…in fact, we need a natural barrier of trees and shrubs on the back edge of the property, and I want trees over there and over there…! I want this property to have a forest!” Guess what? Trees began to sprout all around the property, not necessarily exactly where I wanted them, but pretty dang close! I’ve got apple trees, juniper, poplar and elm! Sounds like a great start to a forest!
In the process of digging up a Transparent Green Lodi apple tree seedling which was growing underneath my first of two Pinon trees in the front yard…
As I planned this Fall, I transplanted all the tree seedlings temporarily into my daughter’s 3rd garden bed where the soil is still rich and moist after her last vegetable harvest. The trees will be dormant over the Winter, but come Spring next year, I am transplanting them to their permanent homes with good soil, ample growing room and lots of water! Because elms grow like a weed, I am planting them as a hedgerow to block out all the new homes recently built out below us in the past 20 years, however, I’ll keep the trees trimmed like a topiary of animal shapes for fun and so we can still see the fantastic view of the San Juan mountains and valley. The poplar trees grow tall and narrow so I’ll use them on the Northwest corner of the property where the broad-span junipers will be planted.
On my morning walks, I’m going to take my favorite tool, a hand pick and a bucket to dig up seedlings along side the road. — Oh, it’s so exciting starting my own tree nursery! Better late than never!