Trees in January

Last year Grump and I purchased a membership to the Arbor Day Foundation, which then gave us 10 free trees. There were several groupings to choose from, but we picked the "Autumn Classics". Well, the trees arrived about a week ago and last weekend Grump planted them. They were tiny when they got here -- looked like a bouquet of sticks, painted different colors so we could tell them apart. Still, they're guaranteed to grow, and if you can't trust the Arbor Day folks when it comes to trees, who can you trust, right? So, for now they're all in the back yard, right near the fence to provide them some protection from the elements. I've decided I'm going to document their growth, taking pictures of two of the trees at the beginning of each month, so we can see how they grow. Right now they're not much to look at, but if we've done everything right they will be eventually. So here are their "baby pictures"...

This first is the smallest of the bunch, but also the one I'm looking forward to the most. It's a White Flowering Dogwood. You can barely even see it in the picture, but it's the long stick that's sticking up in the middle of the green circle. We're eventually planning to place it out front. I can't wait 'till it blooms!

This one's a Red Maple. It should be gorgeous in the fall, once it has had a chance to mature. It's a little easier to see, but I highlighted it with its own circle too.