THE Tree!

We finally got a tree yesterday! A few weeks ago my father-in-law, Jeff, told me to pick out a tree as part of our wedding present and it took us a while to do some research and choose a tree that we wanted. It was between a dogwood tree and a weeping cherry tree. Well...... (drumroll please) we got a Japanese weeping cherry tree!!! 


I went to Lowe's a couple of weeks ago and they only had a Snow Showers cherry tree which also has weeping branches, but it's weird and short and not the shape I wanted my tree to be. I wanted one like Pap and Grandma's that was taller and longer and I called around to various nursery's near State College and found out that what I wanted was a Japanese weeping cherry tree. When I was calling around, I quickly realized that a good, quality tree was going to cost A LOT of money, but I did eventually find one for a reasonable price from a reputable nursery. 


I am in tree bliss right now! How could you not be when you see these gorgeous light pink blossoms?

Taken from under the tree's canopy at approximately 10 this morning.

After I came home from Pap and Grandma's this afternoon, Jordan was outside and he had started to dig the hole to put the tree in. 

When you buy and plant a tree, the hole has to be twice the size of the root ball and our tree's root ball was in a huge, 15-gallon container. That meant our hole had to be BIG!

Since I'm still kind of a gimp (and always a wimp), Jordan gave me little jobs to do. I think the jobs were mostly to keep me occupied so I didn't just stand there and hover over him while he was digging.

Jordan's job: DIG BIG HOLE!

Nicole's job: STAY OUT OF JORDAN'S WAY!

Job 1: Find big rocks in this pile of dirt and take them out.

Job 2: Put big rocks I find in bucket.

Job 3: Water newly-transplanted sod.

When I was finished with all my tasks Jordan was just about done with the hole and it was probably bigger than it actually needed to be.

Reason #835983495 why I love Jordan: When I ask if I can get in the hole and take a picture, all he says is "Sure, as soon as I'm finished." He doesn't question my reason or intention -- he just let's me be quirky and odd.

Me in the hole. Don't ask me why! Jordan didn't!

I'm down to where the ground is mid-thigh on me. I know I'm a shorty, but that is still a pretty deep hole! It was finally time to plant the tree! But first we had to add some peat moss to the back fill soil so that it was a little richer and more nutritious for the tree.

We packed in the dirt and mulched around the tree and this is our final product:

I know the tree looks pretty little in the picture but we have a really big yard -- about an acre! It is already 7 feet tall and the branches already have about an 8 foot diameter. The tag on the tree says that a Japanese weeping cherry tree can get to be 30 feet tall and 20 feet wide, so hopefully it will grow nicely and fill out and be more prominent in our yard. 

Right now it's standing alone in the middle of the yard and Grandma says it already looks majestic. I'm so thankful to Jeff for thinking of such a nice present and I can remember that gesture every time I look out the window when I'm at the kitchen sink and when I wake up in the morning and head downstairs! Jordan and I can watch it grow as the years go on and as our marriage evolves and grows. Can't wait to see how it turns out!