“The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted.”
Psalm 104:16

I have planted hundreds of trees in my lifetime. Few things bring more intrinsic reward than the feel of natural dirt in your hands as you place a living organism in the earth to grow. Sun, soil, and water — that’s all a tree needs to cultivate. Set the rootball on firm ground with room to spread and nature runs its course.

I had a deadline during the month of April and took almost no time off to make it. I say almost no time because one Saturday morning we drove to the local nursery to buy a tree. For years we’ve wanted to accent the home with a dark green conifer but by the time summer rolls around all the nurseries are out of stock. So this year I arranged to get first dibs; I had him call when the truck arrived.

This is an eight foot Colorado blue spruce (green). That root ball is 3 ½ feet wide by 3 ½ feet deep. It weighs 500 pounds. They delivered it yesterday. Took three men to move it. But now this glorious specimen has found its home, where if the Lord wills, it shall drip sap for hundreds of years.

PS: If you plant this summer, don’t be shy about using mycorrhizae fungi. Not a gimmick — it stimulates root growth better than any sheep-peat — your tree will flourish.