“He who plants a tree plants hope.”
   — Lucy Larcom

Tom has always been supportive of my gardening interest. He has humored me for the entirety of our marriage . . . about lots of things, actually, but especially about the gardening. And I am appreciative . . . because I’ve needed him to help me make it all happen. Any garden bed you see in my yard? Tom dug it for me. Most of the bigger plants? Tom planted them. And the trees? Tom.

He says he’s not a gardener.
But he has become a gardener!

And he is a gardener . . . who loves to plant trees. He takes that quote at the start of this post to heart. This spring, when things were bleak and we were fretting about the, well . . . the State Of Things . . . Tom decided we should counter all the bleakness by planting some new trees. By planting hope.

This season, we planted seven new trees in our landscape! (All native Michigan trees.) (Well. Except one.)

In the spring, we planted a basswood (also known as a linden, if that’s a more familiar name to you) in memory of his dad. (His dad was a wood carver, and basswood was his preferred medium for carving.) We planted a lilac in memory of his mom. (I’m not sure that his mom liked lilacs, but I think she did? And, well. I’ve wanted a lilac for a long time, so there you go.) (This is the one tree that’s not a native Michigan cultivar.)

Later, in the summer, we planted a white pine (Michigan’s state tree) to replace the one that was obliterated by the huge mulberry branch that came down in a storm. (We also left the obliterated tree in the garden. It might not have a top half anymore, but the parts that remain are thriving. It wants to live!)

And then in the early fall, we planted a larch tree, a serviceberry, a native dogwood, and a Canadian hemlock (the not-poisonous kind of hemlock). The fall is a great time to plant trees — as long as you give them lots of compost and water the heck out of ’em!

It’s been a labor of love here . . . to give all these trees their best possible start. And especially those new, fall-planted trees. By the time we planted them in early September, the trees were all very stressed. It’s been a long, hot summer here, and while the nursery did a good job keeping them healthy, we’ve had to give them lots of attention – and lots of water. (It’s only rained once since we planted them, and it was not a lot of rain.) Tom and I have dragged hoses from tree to tree, drip-watering each tree for an hour every day. We keep our fingers crossed that it’s been enough.

And we hope.

That’s what gardening really is.
It’s hope. And often, it’s hope against all odds.

[I’m editing this post to add a little note here . . . Please don’t worry too much about our losing these trees. First, we are taking really good care of them, and they’re doing well despite the weather. We’re all in on the watering and care! But also, we purchased the trees from a reputable local nursery and they offer one-year guarantees on their trees – as long as we use a recommended compost product and follow their planting instructions. Which is easy because the product works well and their planting instructions are excellent. This ain’t our first rodeo . . . And now I’m off to drag my hoses!]

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I know many of you are fans of Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass and The Serviceberry. Last week, she announced a new undertaking she’s developing: Plant, Baby, Plant. A call to action. A simple way we can all Do Something to counter the harm being done every day to our environment.

Robin is encouraging all of us to PLANT MORE PLANTS – any plants, really – in our personal environments. Plant a tree. Or a pollinator garden. Or herbs on your patio. Or tomatoes in pots. More plants. Something any of us can do.

You can listen to her talk about Plant, Baby, Plant and its inspiration in this Instagram post. You can visit her new and still-developing website here. Sign up for future updates. Follow her on Instagram. Get inspired to do . . . the next right thing!

I know the gardening season is coming to an end for most of us, but it’s never too early to plan for spring! This winter, make a plan to ADD to your garden. Something new. Something more. Let’s plant, baby, plant! (I’ve alerted Tom to have his shovel ready . . . )