Friday, June 28, 2013

SWAN SONG FOR A DOGWOOD




The old dogwood had beautiful blooms this year.  I was surprised that it survived last year's heat and drought.

This spring's blooms were the dogwood's swan song, larger and more saturated pink than ever before.

My husband and I planted the dogwood 34 years ago.  I am not sure if 34 is old for a dogwood or not, but it is a big chunk of time for us humans. 

Here is what the dogwood looked like last week. Do you see the sprouts popping up right at its base?  Unfortunately, those were persimmon tree sprouts, not baby dogwoods. We have had an over-abundance of rain this spring and summer, along with some very strong winds.  I don't know if it was the rain, rot, wind, or just the tree's age that finally did it in.  It fell over.  We tried to prop it up (that is what those green stakes in the picture are).  That didn't work

It needed to be cut up and taken away. I thought about keeping parts of the trunk, because it had really pretty lichens on it, but before I had time to get outside to ask for it, the landscaping guy already had it loaded into the haul-away trailer with a bunch of other branches. It was 95 degrees out and I just couldn't ask him to get my dogwood trunk back out of the trailer. He would have thought that I was crazy.

I'm glad I took pictures of some of its lichens this spring, even if that does sound silly.

Besides the dogwood tree, the landscaping guy also cleared and hauled all of the weeds, brush (persimmon saplings), and poison ivy out of our back yard .  I pointed the poison ivy out to him when he was giving us the estimate for the work. We have never had anyone else do yard work at our house. It felt strange to need to have someone else do it.  My husband has been hurting with a pulled thigh muscle, and my bad knee makes me pretty useless for any heavy-duty yard work.  The back yard was completely out of control.  Something had to be done.  We were flabbergasted by the landscaper's estimate for the work---it was so low!  (When was the last time you heard anything like that?)  Maybe it is just that it was so worth it to us.  I am still worried about the landscaper getting in all of that poison ivy.  I hope that he is OK and won't be covered in poison ivy when he comes to mow the lawn next week.

The day before the dogwood was to be cut up and hauled away, I went out and took several cuttings of it. This is what they look like.

I followed "googled" dogwood-tree rooting directions.  Hopefully, at least one of the cuttings I'm trying to root will succeed.

I suppose, if something or someone is lucky, they live long enough to get old and gnarled, and just fall over right where they have always been.  I'm going to miss that old dogwood tree.
 

4 comments:

  1. Dogwood blossoms are so pretty. I hope you have good luck with the cuttings.

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  2. That would be great if you can get a good cutting from your dogwood to keep it going.

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  3. That last picture would make a great watercolour
    Janice

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  4. Gorgeous blooms, love your photos with the sky in the background :)

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