Our Decision

Well, the decision was made and last night we hired a man to remove the river birch tree.  It's just about the biggest birch tree in our neighborhood. A healthy tree, but very messy. Joe and I are not able to get up and clean the gutters anymore. Every time the wind blows the tree sheds little branches and twigs. It's almost a daily job...keeping these picked up. I wanted to save the hostas and lilies, so I asked Bryce to come and help me. I thought it would be an easy job...it wasn't. When he went to dig them out....the roots from the tree were intermingled with the roots of the hostas.There he was struggling to saw through the tough roots.  What to do...what to do?  I knew from experience that they couldn't be avoided when these men come to do the job.....so we did the next best thing....cut them down to the ground, so they aren't in the way.That way, hopefully, they will continue to grow after the tree is removed. They probably won't look so good this year, but next year they'll be fine. I pulled the little bulbs of the snowdrops out and put them in another place till the work is done. Also the lilies..He's coming on Monday or Tuesday. Joe wants to replace this big tree with an ornamental one. I hope that we can just live with this until fall, when we can think about it a bit more. I would be satisfied if the statue of Mary was the focal point in a hosta and lily garden...with a spot light at night. The clematis trellis, behind the tree has been struggling for a few years without sun...I would like to let the sun in and see if it will come back to how it was years ago.... full of beautiful purple blossoms. This is a place that I sit at the end of a gardening session. I love to watch the birds go in and out of the bird  house there. The hummingbird feeder on the trellis, is a favorite spot for these little birds. When I went out last night and sat there for a few minutes...Joe said, "Are you saying good bye to the tree?" It will be hard seeing it go next week, but if we want to continue to live here in our home...we have to think of ourselves now and make things as easy as possible for us.
Balisha