Growing on Seven Years of Love…
Living in the city limits has it’s advantages, but one huge disadvantage is having your landscape look as though it’s been in place for years. Since our garden is ‘growing on seven years of love’, we are enjoying seeing what is filling in nicely and what is not. Recently I removed two crabapple trees that just were not what I had envisioned. They were droopy in places and the branches didn’t seem to have a set way of growing…the only time I really loved the variety was when it was in full bloom for two weeks in the springtime. So I recently decided to go ahead and remove these two trees and replace them with something else. Privacy is my ultimate goal and shielding the view of neighboring houses is my plan. Each year, I can see that we are a little closer to that dream.
A tree that has caught my attention this past summer was a ‘feature’ from another blog here in the Northwest (cannot remember the name of it). The tree is called a Golden Locust Tree. I found this tree at several nurseries over the summer, however I just couldn’t take the plunge on spending the average of $150. per tree.
Tomorrow we are having our entire sprinkler system re-done so that we can better manage the garden (and my time). Over the years so many plants have grown and the needs of the garden have changed. Before the crew came out to begin this project, I figured I better get those replacement trees in the ground. However, when I called all of the places that I’d seen those Golden Locust Trees….they were out of stock. So I had to stretch my boundaries a bit, but found them at Whites Nursery in Lynnwood Washington. My husband and I went out there today and picked up two at $49.99 each.
What I love about this tree is the color – it’s such a vibrant chartreuse green and felt it would be unbelievably beautiful against the back drop of arborvitaes. And from everything I read it’s a very fast growing tree!
Before
Okay, I know it’s difficult to tell in the photos of the contrast these trees will bring to the landscape, but I assure you they will put on their own show eventually! Right now anything that is planted is for next years garden anyway, right? These trees were also being stored in a dark corner of the nursery, and so I am assuming now that they are in full sun where they should be, the color will be much more vibrant in the future!
From what I have read about these pretty trees is that their feathery foliage has an almost tropical look and may provide some shade for the plants around it. Sunburst Honey Locust is a very fast grower and has yellow blooms in the spring ~ sounds like it will carry a golden yellow color all summer long. The tag promises beautiful autumn color and produces very little litter because the leaves are so small! The Sunburst Honey Locust grows about two feet a year. There are no thorns or pods on this variety ~ which sounded intriguing to me. A mature tree should become 35-40 foot high with a mature width of 40-45 ft. Sounds like it does well in full sun to partial sun (I have mine in full sun). Soil conditions do not sound picky and since I, like most northwest gardens have poor soil conditions because of the clay ~ this tree will be just fine. Says it’s moderately drought tolerant ~ again, good for my garden based our recent summer season, because I cannot maintain watering on a daily basis.
So looking online, here is what I (eventually) have to look forward to!
Comments
Would love to sit in your garden and have a little inspiring chat :)
Looking forward to seeing winters snow flurries clinging to the trees.
Xx
Dore
XO,
Jane
-Lynn
-Karen
Anyway, love your garden
Janice
Jeannie