Family Tradition: Trees
Posted on October 4, 2014 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
My family had a tradition (or rather, mama did) of planting a tree when a child reached one year of age. I first thought of it as a ritual left over from the Dark Ages. Mama explained if a child lived for a year, there was a good chance it would survive many more years. She also planted a tree when daddy died.
Tom McLemore (r) and brother Charles.
Mama planted a magnolia tree for me when I was one. Two years later she planted another for my one-year-old brother, Charles, so my tree was always two years older. We were still very young when she explained those were “our” trees.
Charles’ tree was planted in a spot where the water from the washing machine drained downhill. At first, with lots of warm water, his tree grew much better than mine, and for several years it flourished and outgrew my tree.
“Our” trees were on opposite sides of the house. My spot was okay, and my tree did okay. As it turned out, my spot had more sunshine, and my tree finally caught up and passed his tree! (Do you think I have a competitive nature?)
“Our” two trees are long gone. They were in the way of a developer, and both were huge; much too large to move. A bulldozer got them when I was about 45 years old. But mama did well, and we both have very fond memories of “our” trees. You could say Charles and I planted about 8,000 oak trees for mama, but that’s another story.
Mama died in December, 2001. More than 70% of the trees we planted were still alive after five years. They got a lot of attention, and the property is protected by a conservation easement. No developer will ever get those trees.
I must add, I really like developers, I just miss “my” tree.
Tom McLemore is a Master Gardener and President of the Capital City Master Gardener Association. He and his brother Charles, a veterinarian and Master Gardener, live in Montgomery. For information on becoming a master gardener, visit the website, www.capcitymga.org or e-mail capcitymga@gmail.com.
