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             The Gardener Guy of Tulsa, Oklahoma

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Creating an Arboretum

When Bill bought an old rundown farm house it was barely habitable, he didn't just focus his attentions on the house - he started planting trees right away. He is an avid birder (and project coordinator for the Connecticut River Birding Trail headquartered in White River Junction, VT), and he loves trees. So he decided that over the course of his life he would create his own arboretum. That every year he would plant a few trees, particularly those that nourish wildlife.

The first tree Bill planted was a thornless honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis) sent to him by the Arbor Day Foundation. Since that time he has planted another 40 or 50 trees, concentrating on native species. He has a few that, while native to the United States, are outside their normal habitat. Thus he dug up a little pitch pine (Pinus rigida) from his sister's place in Cape Cod, and a lodgepole pine (P. contorta) he got while in Montana - and both are doing well.

Instead of planting trees and shrubs that are seen in every new subdivision, Bill has looked for more unusual things. He loves his beaked filbert (Corylus cornuta) not for the delicious fruit that the squirrels get before he can, but for the male catkins in winter, and for the delicate magenta blossoms that grace this multi-stemmed shrub in April - blooming even before his shadbush, one of the earliest bloomers. Others he likes are mountain maple (Acer spicatum) a small understory tree with interesting bark, and common hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), a fast-growing full sized tree that produces drupes (fruit) enjoyed by birds in the fall.

Although he has 29 acres, Bill has 30 species of trees and shrubs growing on the half acre surrounding his house - but has not given up his lawn. He has added trees that will be large at maturity along the edge of an existing woodland at his property line, then added understory shrubs next to them. Witchhazel, elderberry, pagoda dogwood, red osier dogwood, blueberries and hobblebush are great animal food, and take up very little space.

Bill has spent very little on his arboretum. His family and friends know that he collects trees, and have let him dig seedlings on their properties. But he doesn't try to transplant trees and shrubs the size most nurseries sell. Bill thinks small: he digs up seedlings that are generally just 12-24 inches tall. He explained that small trees do better than larger trees because they lose a much smaller percentage of their root system do when dug. Normally he digs two or three of the same species, and immediately heels them into his vegetable garden. Later he moves them again - once he has found good places for each.

Even sumac, a plant I consider a nuisance, has a place on Bill's property. He has it because it provides food in the spring for robins and other birds when there is little else to eat. It spreads by root suckers, but his has not spread aggressively - perhaps, he explained, because it is at the edge of the woods so it is not as vigorous as it might be in full sun.

Although many experts advise planting trees in the fall, Bill plants most of his in the spring. He likes to get them established before the harsh Vermont winter arrives. The key to success, he explained, is to water at least twice a week. He knows that if they dry out, they won't survive. Of course, that is another reason to have so many trees near the house - they're close to the hose.

Deer are a problem in Bill's neighborhood, so he protects all his young trees with chicken wire or bird netting. He noted that the growing tip (or leader) of a tree is the most important part to protect, so he keeps it screened up to a height that deer can't reach. Later, if a deer nibbles a branch or two? Well, that's just some volunteer pruning.

Not every tree that Bill plants is a success story. Near the birdfeeders is a dead sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) that lived for 10 years, then mysteriously died. He lives in USDA zone 4 (minus 20-30 in winter) and sycamores should be hardy there, though they are rarely seen in the wild in his part of Vermont. He keeps it for the birds, which rest in it, and perhaps to remind himself that it's worth trying to grow lovely trees even if they don't all make it.

So take time to dream this winter. You don't have to be an expert to start your own arboretum. As Bill told me, "I don't make it rocket science. I'm just an enthusiast, not a botanical wizard." Me? I'm dreaming about getting a beaked hazelnut with those early magenta blossoms.

Henry Homeyer is the author of "Notes from the Garden: Reflections and Observations of an Organic Gardener". He may be contacted at gardening.guy@valley.net, or P. O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, N.H. 03746. His Web site is www.gardening-guy.com