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“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”
John Muir
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“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.”
John Muir
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“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”
John Muir
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“I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do. They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!”
John Muir
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“It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
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“He who plants a tree
Plants a hope.”
Plants a hope.”
Lucy Larcom, “Plant a Tree”
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Planting Trees In Virginia
Trees planted in Virginia have the best chance of survival when planted in late fall or very early spring. The roots need time to take hold and grow before the heat of summer puts stress on the new tree. We can plant dormant trees whenever the ground is thawed enough to dig, or we can plant them anytime in large pots.
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January and February are the best time to order trees and shrubs for spring planting. There are many deals available for small bare root trees through internet nurseries now, for nice trees costing less than $5 each. If you want to plant a more mature tree, potted trees will begin arriving in our local nurseries this month. Start small bare root nursery stock in pots with potting soil. Allow the tree to gain size its first year in potting soil with plentiful water and sun. This promotes better root growth and protects the new tree until it is more mature. Move it out of its pot into the garden in late autumn.
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Before planting any tree or shrub, know its needs for water and light, and know its mature size. Make sure it can grow where you intend to plant it without heavy pruning, and that the light will be sufficient. Most new trees and shrubs need extra watering for the first year or two as the roots establish, and then can live on normal rainfall. In times of drought or extreme heat they will appreciate deep watering.
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Trees are designed to live in nature without additional care from us. They give such beauty, and require so little effort from the gardener.
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All Photos by Woodland Gnome 2013-2014
Tree Wisdom Part 1
Forest Garden 
These are beautiful photos that look so much like East Texas area. The cypress trees are like the ones outside of my windows. They have a special spooky, old, aura about them. There are egrets by the lake daily, mainly white, but one I call Charlie is a big grey one who fishes within view of my deck. He stretches his long graceful neck out and up at times which reminds me of Japanese art. I love nature.
What amazing beauty to have right outside your window 😉 I love the cypress trees, especially this time of year when their silhouettes are visible. Our egrets must have flown south to spend the winter with you. What peace in nature. So glad you like the photos. I’ve never seen East Texas, but now you have me curious 😉 Best wishes, WG