i decided to take the dogs for a jeep ride since their life is dullsville at the moment. i took back the bottles that the little thieves tried to take saturday and racked up $29 and change which hit the jeep's ashtray as my coffee fund (altho i really doubt it will stay there permanently). from there i decided to hit up golden acre and browse. dogs left in jeep.
they have some great shit there. tons of wonderful patio sets and accessories, garden chachkis, figurines, seeds, bird feeders, and of course plants. i bought some dog seed for the patches on the grass and picked up a bag of corn-based weed n feed, the new eco alternative to traditional weed n feed. i looked at the price (44.99) and put it back. payday for sure. from there i wandered into the greenhouse and looked around. picked up a couple of plants and browsed through the trees.
we really need trees in our yard. the ones we have are pretty pathetic. we had bought a drop leaf linden from golden acre about 4 yrs ago and we were told it was hardy and would take the prairie wind on our north lawn. wrongggggg! the thing is curved over and listing from the wind and is slow to blossom. we are both very disappointed with it. ch wants to yank it out of the front in favour of a taller more mature tree, but i am against killing anything. and the root system has definitely spread out throughout the patch i've cut for it, so removing it without injuring it will be difficult. if we could move it to the back successfully that would be great...anywhere but in the constant barrage of gusty winds and inclement weather.
what i really really want is a thunderchild crabapple tree. they are everywhere in the hat and they're gorgeous:
so pretty, so pink and so colorful. the blooms dont last, but that's to be expected. i just think it would be an awesome shot of color in the yard.we have two trees in the back: an elm tree which seems to be doing ok and a lodi apple tree. we were told that the elm tree would be fast growing and i think it is, however, it's turned on a wierd angle so that the thickness of the tree branches goes from south to north, rather than east to west, so from the house it looks thin and delapitated. if we would have just turned it (we being ME because i'm the one who dug the fucking hole and planted it solo), then it would look more full. however, it's too late now, so i am content knowing it's coming to life and budding out and tiny leaves have appeared.
the lodi apple has really been the show stopper. i found it at home depot for 29.99 in the "please, buy us, we're rejects" section. i really didnt think it would amount to much, but bought it thinking that another tree in the yard would never hurt. i planted it 2 years ago and the first year, like any other bush, it did nothing. last year? well, holy shit...we got APPLES! it blossomed in the spring and produced dozens of small apples. as nature is want to do, strong winds came along and blew the majority of them off there, but the ones that remained (approx 11) grew to the size of tennis balls and were roughly the same shape and color. i should have picked them in july when they're the best, but i left them till august/early sept...they were kind of sour, some were rotten, but those i salvaged made a great apple pie. i was SO proud. there is something so absolutely rewarding about being ABLE to grow your own food AND eat it (without dying) that is very addictive.
i still would like to put in several trees on the lot. for sure the thunderchild. i know it will look good on our property and will be hardy because they're everywhere in the hat. ideally, i'd love at least another 10 trees of different sizes and shapes. someone complains viciously if i start cutting up lawn, declaring that he'd really like to see grass...but the thing is that i'm the one taking care of said grass and in reality, the sun is absolutely killing it. we may as well put down more trees and have a yard worth sitting in, rather than a vast expanse of grass and no shade, making it unenjoyable.
i think i'm going to go back to golden acres and buy 2 trees and arrange for delivery. i'd like to get them sooner rather than later while they have abundant stock. if i wait, they'll be gone.
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