The Tree

So on one side of our yard there is nothing, just heat stricken grass, half dead and covered with ant hills. My husband and I decided we needed a little more privacy and I decided we needed less grass. First thing we did was buy a 14 Ft. Bur Oak. Of course, I had never had someone else "install" anything in my garden and I wasn't about to start -- especially due to the fact that they charge half the price of the tree to do so! But once I had my 400 lb. Bur Oak sitting at the bottom of our very steep driveway, I though, what in the world am I going to do now? 

I wish I would have taken pictures of my husband and I rolling the tree over dowels all the way to the backyard. Ancient but it worked. Plus, I think I dug the whole about 2 hours a day for a week and that's before my husband took over. Yes, I coming from LA, I didn't realize how much rock we are actually sitting on here. But we managed to get it in the ground and then prayed. There wasn't a single leaf on our tree when we got it. In fact, there weren't any buds. The only way I could tell it was alive was scraping back the bark to see green. This was in March 2009.

By mid April, the buds came out and then the leaves. In no time, our tree was looking great. I was so excited that it seemed to get over the shock of being transplanted. However, this didn't come without problems. Something was eating the leaves! From what I read, there aren't many pests that bother Bur Oaks. Well, I beg to differ. Take a look at the photos.

Finally, this last picture is taken in May 2009. And it looks pretty much the same right now. So far it is braving this extremely hot, dry Summer. Hopefully we will have it for years to come.