Garden Tours and New Trees

Seeing other people’s gardens and speaking with them about their gardening experience is satisfying and rewarding. On June 24, 2023, Andrew and I organized a garden tour. We hosted a brunch for 12 people at our house, followed by a tour of our yard. Here are a few photos of the gardens we toured.

We drove to our nearby neighbors, Lilli and Gary, who have been gardening at their home for 35 years. It shows in a beautifully manicured and curated planting scheme. Lilli is a professional gardener with a keen eye to plant placement.

Our next garden was the tropical paradise of our friends Tim and John. Their garden is a lush oasis. Walking through the garden gate is like stepping into an equatorial time shift. Only the views of the Hudson River remind you where you are in reality. This garden is less than 10 years old. Tim performs heroics to keep the tropical plants alive during Hudson Valley winters, with an elaborate scheme of protective structures and Christmas tree lights as warming elements. It is a feast for the eye and a lovely place for a relaxing swim.

From the tropics to the city, Kai and Alexey’s garden is a study in contrasting textures and shapes. The garden is located on Liberty Street, a street frequented by George Washington during the Revolutionary war. Prior to the revolution, the street was King street. Kai previously worked for the New York Botanical Garden. He has a deep knowledge of plants and can recite scientific names most of us cannot even pronounce. This garden is a peaceful retreat from the city by which it is surrounded.

Our final garden tour was the city garden of Christina and Thomas. Lilli is the caretake of this garden. The lot is tiered, resulting in a series of rooms behind the house, each level offering a surprise. Unfortunately, I must have been tired, as I only took one bad photograph.

It was a fun day filled with beautiful gardens and excellent conversation.

Back to our garden. While on the tour, I had a conversation with one of the people on tour. We were talking about planting some trees. I readily admitted that I plant many seedling sized trees (about 1 foot or less in height). He stated that at his age he would not bother planting small trees. He would not have the opportunity to see them achieve an appropriate size in his lifetime and does not want to wait for them to grow up. Incidentally, this man is younger than me. His comments made me think.

When we first moved to Newburgh, Andrew joined the Arbor Day Foundation. He received some small seedlings in the mail. They were so small they were almost indiscernible as plants, they looked like some twigs, barely 6 inches long. One of these was an eastern redbud. We watched as this stick grew slowly over the past 4 years. Today, it is a small tree. This year alone it has added 3 feet to the main branch. One day it will shade the mailbox completely.

Eastern Redbud Tree

In contrast to our neighbor, who cannot plant small trees, I find planting small trees extremely rewarding. Perhaps a tree I plant will not reach a full size in my lifetime, but whatever height it reaches, I am assured of a gratifying outcome as it grows taller each year. Just like the rest of the garden, it is the journey and not the end result that is important.

This brings me to our two latest tree plantings. Lilli and Gary planted a Flame Thrower Redbud tree. It is an extremely striking tree. Andrew liked it a lot, so we had to buy one. The trees at the local nursery were overpriced and not in the best of shape. We ordered ours from Fast Growing Trees (their name is only a marketing scheme, as they sell many trees that do not grow fast). It arrived in the mail, a little battered, but alive!

The planted tree is almost not visible in the middle photograph. I planted it between the red Japanese maple on the left and a sweet bay magnolia on the right (another Fast Growing Trees purchase that has been slow to take off), offering a contrast of red and green on each side. The remarkable thing about the Flame Thrower is the intense crimson color of new leaves. Since planting the tree last week, a new leaf has appeared. It is bright red against the yellow green of the slightly older leaves. Look for future updates about this glorious tree.

Our dear friends Tim and John gave us a gift of a Bracken’s Brown Beauty Magnolia. This too is not yet a large tree, but it will be one day. The blossoms are large and have a lovely scent. We especially like magnolia trees. When we bought the property there was one magnificent old magnolia tree by the driveway. We now have six different magnolia varieties.

1 Pink magnolia – our original tree

1 Purple, Ann magnolia

1 Yellow, Elizabeth magnolia

2 Star magnolias

4 Sweet Bay magnolia

1 Bracken’s Brown Beauty magnolia

They bloom at different times, providing for an extended period of blossoms.

To buy mature trees is a luxury for the rich. Watching a tree grow from a stick in the ground to a good-sized tree is well worth the time and effort. I will keep planting my sticks.

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Nelson Henderson