It’s a good time to plant a tree. The weather is cooler, rains are coming and tiny roots will have time to become established over the winter.
There are lots of reasons to plant trees. The birth of a baby is a grand occasion to plant a tree and watch it grow year after year as the toddler, child, teenager, young adult matures (perhaps only in theory) along with it. Even if you know you won’t be in that particular house for the next several decades, you could still drive by with the little one and reflect on the “tree we planted the year you were born” and expound on a few life lessons if you were so inclined. (As in, Yes, the little tree got nicked/harmed and struggled and things looked grim but look at it now!)
A tree is a wonderful way to honor a person. Upon retirement, a job well done, an anniversary, a birthday, a graduation and such, a tree is a living tribute that benefits present and future generations. As a memorial, it somehow brings the person who is no long with us closer and is something we can touch and tend to and nourish in memory of a beloved soul who has passed on.
Planting a tree is an optimistic endeavor. As we dig the hole, twice as wide and just as deep as the plant, and fill the edges with rich soil and water it until black mush spills over the sides, we picture the little tree in the spring, with the branches budding with baby green leaf buds, and it’s hard to entirely pessimistic.
When we plant a tree, we stake our claim here on the planet. If we plant an oak, we know full well we won’t see it mature, but that little one who just arrived might. And if she doesn’t, her own little one might. And on and on the story might go about that massive oak with branches spreading out for 20 feet on every side, the one that is frequented by hummingbirds and tanagers and woodpeckers and orioles and a slew of other birds, the one that serves as host and feeding ground for a gazillion important insects and the one with deep shade for afternoon tea parties and the perfect spot for generations of tree houses.
There are so many reasons to plant a tree. But one good one is that planting a native tree to our area is a really good thing for our planet. And given the state of our fragile island home, it’s good to do something good for the folks who come after us.
by Ferris Robinson
There are lots of reasons to plant trees. The birth of a baby is a grand occasion to plant a tree and watch it grow year after year as the toddler, child, teenager, young adult matures (perhaps only in theory) along with it. Even if you know you won’t be in that particular house for the next several decades, you could still drive by with the little one and reflect on the “tree we planted the year you were born” and expound on a few life lessons if you were so inclined. (As in, Yes, the little tree got nicked/harmed and struggled and things looked grim but look at it now!)
A tree is a wonderful way to honor a person. Upon retirement, a job well done, an anniversary, a birthday, a graduation and such, a tree is a living tribute that benefits present and future generations. As a memorial, it somehow brings the person who is no long with us closer and is something we can touch and tend to and nourish in memory of a beloved soul who has passed on.
Planting a tree is an optimistic endeavor. As we dig the hole, twice as wide and just as deep as the plant, and fill the edges with rich soil and water it until black mush spills over the sides, we picture the little tree in the spring, with the branches budding with baby green leaf buds, and it’s hard to entirely pessimistic.
When we plant a tree, we stake our claim here on the planet. If we plant an oak, we know full well we won’t see it mature, but that little one who just arrived might. And if she doesn’t, her own little one might. And on and on the story might go about that massive oak with branches spreading out for 20 feet on every side, the one that is frequented by hummingbirds and tanagers and woodpeckers and orioles and a slew of other birds, the one that serves as host and feeding ground for a gazillion important insects and the one with deep shade for afternoon tea parties and the perfect spot for generations of tree houses.
There are so many reasons to plant a tree. But one good one is that planting a native tree to our area is a really good thing for our planet. And given the state of our fragile island home, it’s good to do something good for the folks who come after us.
by Ferris Robinson
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