There's something I've been trying not to think about ... but, I can't avoid it ... Hurricane Ike may not have downed any of our beautiful trees - but he may have damaged them beyond repair. We have an arborist coming out soon to let us know what to do. Our giant cedar in the front has many large hanging branches, but I think it might be ok. We have a beautiful Sycamore that essentially had the top third of itself snapped off and impaled on our iron gate. In the early days of our neighborhood ( which celebrated it's centennial last year ) Sycamores were planted along the streets - I love that we have one. The little bit that I've read about trees snapped in thirds, doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence that it is going to be a survivor.
My favorites of our trees, by far, are our two ancient Pecan trees. They flank the side of our house, next to our driveway. They give us so much, they mean so much ... they give us decadent and deep shade that makes even the most oppressive Summer day seem pleasant ... they give us food ( LOTS of food ) ... they bring untold varieties of wildlife to our little urban oasis ( which in this house, is a good thing ) ... to lose one or both of them would truly break my heart. But, it doesn't look good. When we moved to this house, we had an arborist come out to advise us about our trees. He diagnosed the Pecan trees as being " stressed ". Being abused by the storm might just have put them over the edge ... they look bad.
If the worst comes to fruition, and we do lose some trees, we want to replace them with something special. I found just the place to help us make that happen . www.historictrees.org
From their website :
American Forests Historic Tree Program is the nation’s only resource for offspring from famous and historic trees. All of our trees are authentic, direct descendents of trees that shaded the lives of famous people or events. You can grow a Redbud from George Washington's River Farm, a honey locust from Gettysburg, a red maple from Walden Woods, a sweetgum from Graceland. Check out our exte
nsive collection from historical sites across America.
A Tulip Poplar from Mount Vernon
A Red Maple from Walden Pond
The Angel Live Oak - said to be the oldest living thing East of the Mississippi River - 1400 years - isn't it incredible ...
