Do You Want to Hear the Good News First or the Bad News?

October brought good and bad news. I'll start with the bad news: the tree company felled the catalpa that shaded the garden on the west side of the house. This is upsetting on several levels. First, we already lost the silver maple that stood alongside the catalpa tree; together they provided the BEST shade. All the plants that were under their canopies are shade lovers. Second, the silver maple and the catalpa were part of my husband's childhood -- with memories of a hammock and shady places to play in hot summers. Third, the branches of the catalpa framed the garden room's French door.  I would sit in my favorite armchair and take photographs of the birds that rested on the branches as they waited their turn on the bird feeder. I haven't been able to take such natural pictures anywhere else. Yes, the catalpa will be sorely missed.

With the removal of the tree, all shade has gone.

We used the Bartlett tree company; they did a great job from the initial evaluation of the tree by their arborist to the grinding down of the tree stump. We had them grind the silver maple tree stump too. We booked a spider track lift that takes up little space, so Duane had to remove only one panel of fencing. Of course, I photographed the whole procedure:

The silver maple tree was taken down three years ago. They began by reducing the height of its remaining stump.

It's easy to see why the track lift is called a spider.  They removed a dead ash tree first.

The procedure for removing branches was interesting:

1. The man in the bucket wrapped a rope around the branch.

2. He sawed off  the branch

3. Another person on the ground held the end of the rope. They carefully lowered the branch.

They chipped the smaller branches in a machine in a trailer parked on the road.

When they had removed all the branches, they attached a rope to the top of the tree trunk. They cut a wedge out of each side of the trunk before carefully pulling it down to the ground.

Pulling the tree trunk down

When we saw the tree was rotted, we knew we had made the right decision.

The tree company would return a week later to grind down the stumps

Lots of firewood for Duane's brother-in-law's wood-burning stove

SURPRISE: The rope that attached the hammock 60 years ago is embedded in the tree trunk with bark grown around it.

They used a robot-type machine to grind the stumps.

We are so sad to lose our precious tree. We will plant another tree in the spring when we will also decide how to construct some temporary shade in the Serenity Garden.

NOW THE GOOD NEWS

I received a letter from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society saying they awarded my garden a blue ribbon in their annual garden contest. The contest is open to all types of gardens in three states: Pa, NJ, and DE; there were over 450 entries this year. The judges visited my gardens in July. They awarded points for aesthetic appeal, beauty, innovation, and aesthetic design, plant health, sustainable practices and resourcefulness, edible plants, habitat for pollinators and other plant life, and connections to family, neighbors and/or community. I will receive a 2019 plaque for my garden -- I've received two before -- you can see them in my sidebar. I feel very honored.

This is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. I'm linking with the lovely Carol at May Dreams Gardens where you can enjoy gardens from around the world. Below are a few flowers in my garden today. Just a handful that have not succumbed to the first frosts.

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day,

Pamela x

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