Evergreen Trees

My daughter took me on a tour of our yard the other day. She pointed out all the trees that were sprouting. This is something I never would have noticed as a kid or even now! I am thankful my husband is teaching my kids these things; and in turn, they teach me.

In the past, I would have just mowed over these things without giving it any thought. My husband and kids have taught me to slow down and notice the small things around me. Just because something seems out of place, doesn’t mean it needs to be destroyed. It might just need a little help finding its forever home.

Last year, my husband harvested some of the trees without my knowledge. These tiny trees were growing just like that in the ground. He dug them up and put them in pots using soil from our compost. Since then, we have been keeping an eye on them, watering them, and keeping them healthy. The trees have been pretty low maintenance and have been growing much bigger and stronger. They also make a nice addition to the greenery on our balcony.

We have started doing that to some of the cedars above. We will continue this process each year until we have enough strong, healthy evergreens to make a natural fence.

For some, this might seem like a daunting process. Why take the time when you can just buy a bunch of trees and get the tree fence done quickly? If money wasn’t an issue, we just might do it that way. However, we really enjoy doing projects like this, so we choose to spend our money on other things, like our baby chicks.

We also learned a lot about big projects like this with our first home. We often changed our minds when we were creating an urban homestead and renovating our bungalow. I fear that if we do something too quickly at our new property, I will regret it.

As you start your homestead, remember to slow down and take advantage of what grows naturally. I have been truly amazed at what our mother earth provides for us, even though I feel undeserving of her generosity at times.