Perhaps A Singing Bird Will Come

 Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.  Kahlil Gibran

This White Flowering Dogwood began
life as a seedling mailed to me ten years ago.

Last winter I sent $10 to the Arbor Day Foundation, just as I had ten years earlier. In late March I received ten flowering tree and two Crapemyrtle seedlings along with directions for how to successfully grow them. I live in a condo complex with limited yard and clay soil, so assumed that I would give most of the seedlings away, just as I did ten years earlier. When I had no early takers, I created a temporary tree nursery in one of my longer pots, hoping people would want my trees when they were large enough to put in the ground. 

I simulated the trough recommended for seedlings that would
not be planted in the ground immediately.

One impetus for this renewed greening effort was the loss of my Weeping Cherry Tree last fall when it succumbed to disease. I let the Cherry Tree's large patio pot stand empty for several months in honor of all the joy that tree had brought to me. What should go into this pot? I contemplated this question until I received my tree seedlings: 3 American Redbud, 2 Sargent Crabapple, 2 Washington Hawthorn, 3 White Flowering Dogwood, and 2 Crapemyrtle.

After reading about my future trees, I decided that one of the Crapemyrtles would be appropriate for the large pot on my patio. While most of the other seedlings went into the tree nursery the two Crapemyrtle received pots of their own. When one Crapemyrtle took off quickly, I transferred it to the large patio pot.

The Crapemyrtle bush is flourishing, encouraged by
other surrounding plants until it is well established.

The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Before long I had a taker for one of the Dogwoods, yeah! The two Crabapples got powdery mildew fairly quickly so I threw them away. Besides, who wants to clean up all of the crabapples when they land in the yard during autumn?

I am very excited about the way
my Washington Hawthorns are growing.

As the seedlings began to leaf out, I gave each of them its own pot. One of the Hawthorns did not leaf when other seedlings did but since it had a tiny root, I gave it a pot of its own and changed its location. Now it's doing fine! One of the Redbuds did not leaf and with no sign of its original roots, sadly, I let it go.

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.   Greek Proverb

The American Redbuds are progressing slowly.
They may need something I am not supplying.

When I was living in Singapore in the mid-seventies, it was cement city. Today Singapore is one of the greenest cities on the planet. In the 1980s Singapore's government began planting trees and lowered the city's temperature almost immediately. They continued to not only plant trees but to build green buildings, not just LEED standard, but covered in greenery.

This healthy Dogwood is ready for a home.
Dogwoods have lovely white blossoms in spring and bright red seeds in fall.

I call my small tree nursery Petite Greening. It is nothing compared to the millions of trees planted in Singapore or several months ago in the Punjab - a state in India. I hope some local readers will come by and take home one of these darling trees to help re-green the Willamette Valley.

Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.  Chinese proverb

The Washington Hawthorn has white flowers in June,
red-purple leaves that turn dark green and then orange or scarlet in fall,
and small, glossy-red fruits that are a favorite of songbirds.