Our Tree

Our new tree finally arrived! My parents came to visit this weekend and delivered our Green Leaf Japanese Maple. This is our first major plant that Adam and I have put in the ground. We were very excited to get that installed. Here are a few several pictures from the process of getting the tree from the grower, to Columbia, and into the ground...

In the photo above you see our tree freshly dug with the root ball wrapped in burlap with a metal cage to hold it all together. The trunk and branches were wrapped to protect them during loading, travel, and unloading. Here are a few pictures from the "tree farm".

The bobcat loading the tree onto the trailer.

My dad supervising.

Once the tree was loaded onto the trailer, my parents and sister drove to Columbia to make the delivery...and spend a very nice Easter weekend with us!

Digging the hole.

When I left for work on Friday morning, I was told that when I returned the hole would be ready for the tree and on Saturday we would gather (with several friends) to slowly move the 1,000-pound tree, into the hole.

More digging...My sister was obviously acting as the foreman on this job!

They mixed in some "homemade" leaf compost from my parents compost pile to give the tree an extra boost!

Mid-way through my morning at work, I received this picture...Yes, they (they being my father, husband, sister and mother, who was standing by taking pictures) got excited and decided to get that tree into the ground on Friday! They used Adam's truck to pull the tree off the trailer and guide it into the hole.

The tree is finally in the hole!

Now, I'm not sure how they managed it...four people with a 1,000-pound tree, but somehow, they got the tree off the trailer, into the hole, steadied, and planted all in a matter of just a few hours.

Pulling the burlap down around the root ball to prevent wicking.

And finally, our beautiful tree was settled into place. A few of the leaves at the top of the tree are starting to pop. We're hoping it will be full of beautiful bright green leaves in just a few weeks! The trunk has beautiful green bark and the branches are tipped with red. It's a perfect addition to our front yard.

We spent even more time in the front yard this weekend after planting the tree. Stay tuned for more...