meteor hit

The meteor explains the lack of blog activity over the past month.

OK. So no meteor hit. But it kind of looks like it did.

A magnolia tree used to occupy that hole. According to our master landscape plan, a potager garden will be out front, and therefore no room for a tree in the center of the yard. We did not chop it down, but we opted to move it to the backyard instead. (Especially since the arborist estimated the tree of that size was worth $800).
Here’s our process of moving the tree.

magnolia tree in fall

I moved some hedges in the morning, anticipating needing a wide opening to transport the tree.

When Steve, the arborist, arrived, the first thing we did was tie up the branches of the tree (almost as if it were wearing a straight jacket).

all tied up

Next was the digging.

Several weeks prior I had “scored” the earth around the tree to make the root ball a little more compact. This was done by pushing a shovel into the ground and then pulling right back out, all around the tree. This cuts some of the roots that had grown outside of that area.

Fast forward to present - time to dig around the root ball.

diggin around root ball

Some of the dangling roots were then clipped. And then burlap was wrapped around the root ball to prevent it from falling apart. This was then tied up with plenty of twine.

wrapped and ready

When we realized it was too heavy even to move onto a dolly, we needed to bring in the heavy machinery.

moving the tree

Steve rented a forklift with wheels that are like tank treads. Supposedly, these do less damage to lawns than regular tires. Once the tree was tied to the lift, it transported easily.

placing the tree

It just needed to dropped into place, and then leveled.

tree set

And voila. I just have to remember to water it every day for the next week or so.

And I’ve got to figure out what to do with the hole in the front yard.

Update: How the tree is doing the following spring.