There are several pine trees on Iten's Acres. The purpose of pine trees is to give winter's snows a place to show off. They also provide good shelter for the birds--a port to ride out the storms. And anytime of the year they can nestle among the needles, sing loudly, and be invisible. Yes, there are lots of pine trees on Iten's Acres, and then, there is THE PINE TREE. THE PINE TREE sits near the front of the property. It is monstrous--sixty to seventy feet high I would imagine, covered with deep scarlet pine cones from spring to summer, so wide that standing on one side you can't see what's on the other, and you should see it after a snow. Without any "decorations" it has a singular beauty all its own.
But could I leave the area alone untouched by Iten hands? Of course not. Originally, I just did a few simple things to enrich the area. I put daffodils in front of the tree facing County Road 25. (I love the name of my road. It sounds agrarian.) I, also, put a weeping willow a tad to the southwest, and an iris bed hidden on the western side of the tree invisible to anyone coming down the driveway; you'll have to walk Iten's Acres to see it. And I added a red rose, a small juniper, and a wooden planter with a daylily in it right next to the iris bed. The daffodils--all yellow--bloomed the very first spring and have been multiplying every year as good daffodils should. The iris bed blooms every year, a dozen or so colors. The weeping willow is growing despite a deer luncheon. The juniper has tripled in size since I first planted it. The red rose and the lily--orange--are beautiful. A walk around the pine tree is brief, but worth the surprises.
One would think that a normal chubby old bald guy would be satisfied with Phase One. Come on, you know me better than that. Phase Two of THE PINE TREE zone improvement society program (does one person make a society?) was uncomplicated: another bed on the driveway side of THE PINE for those too lazy to get out and walk, and an expanded bed on the hidden side of the tree that included the rose and the planter. Bed Two--the one facing the driveway was originally an iris bed (imagine that--again). I did put two dark red daylilies in there, a few white daffodils, and a white hibiscus with a maroon "eye." In addition, I put a pink rose right next to the bed. Bed Four--the one surrounding the rose and lily planter--I filled with a hodge podge of different flowers of all shapes and colors.
The hibiscus in Bed Two, however, has taken over. I should name it the Hibiscus Bed. There, consider it done. (You have just experienced a historical moment!) This year there were over half-a-dozen hibiscus that bloomed in this bed, and that was after I dug up and transplanted another half-a-dozen or so. Anyone need some hibiscus for their yard? Drop by next June. The lilies don't seem to mind the take-over attempt so I've added a couple more to the mix. For the iris, though, it has been a different story--and a sad one (if you have the right flower priorities). Three springs ago, tons of gorgeous blooms. The next spring, not so many. Last spring, barely any. (Fight back those tears.) As a result of this growing tragedy, this fall I dug up most of the iris in this bed and transplanted them elsewhere. Now, I will have to wait a couple of springs to see if they like their new homes. Meanwhile, I'm sure the hibiscus and the lilies are gloating. Good thing they're beautiful in their own right.
Bed Four--the rose/lily planter bed--has done well. I wasn't too sure because with the size of THE PINE TREE it's in shade all morning long. It does have a sunny afternoon and that appears to be enough. As I've mentioned it's eclectic--a little bit of everything from March to frost, including by the way a myriad of yellow cosmos I got from my sister Chloe. Whoever heard of yellow cosmos? (Until now, of course.)
Was the improvement society satisfied? Content at last? Nope. Phase Three started modestly enough. I just expanded that first iris bed I mentioned. Shall we be creative and call it Bed Three? Added a few more iris! And some other things. Actually, the enlarging led to a wonderful historical surprise: a flower-of-an-hour sprung up in the expansion and has been blooming every year since--wild, Ohioan, and beautiful: the first and, so far, only of its kind on the Acres. God wanted to add His touch to the area I suppose and assigned one of the Gardening Angels to do a little planting for my pleasure.
But, ahhh, that was not the end of Phase Three. One day my imagination got the best of me. One fine day (all the days at Iten's Acres are fine days by the way) as I was creeping down the driveway taking in the beauty everywhere that I could see, it dawned on me--in the middle of the afternoon no less--that you couldn't see what was on the northern side of THE PINE TREE until you were perpendicular to it on the driveway. An idea began to ricochet around my brain: what if I put a collection--an arbor--of flowering trees and shrubs in that area so that the visitors to the Acres would suddenly be surprised by a beautiful burst of color that he or she couldn't see from Country Road 25 but couldn't miss seeing when they drove past THE PINE TREE? Tuh-duh! The idea took up residence in my consciousness, and the arbor has begun to take shape. I will be Home before it has grown up enough to match my vision, but the "portrait" has begun to materialize. I like being a flower artist (and deeply admire those who are real artists). Here's what is in the Surprise Arbor so far: two redbuds, a crab apple, a dogwood, a hawthorn, an elderberry, a Rose of Sharon, a hibiscus, a golden barberry, and a small iris bed with a burgundy rose. They are all doing splendidly for little tykes. I hope to add another more mature redbud, a couple of mature weeping cherries, a flowering almond, and a more mature red crab apple in the near future to give the arbor a jump start as I wait for the other beauties to mature. The rose has already bloomed. If the Lord graciously gives me five more years to complete my three score and ten, I should see the redbuds, elderberry, Rose of Sharon, hibiscus, and flowering almond all bloom. Just thinking about it, stirs my soul. If you come by the Acres and see me pulling part way up my driveway, backing up, and doing that over and over again, please don't think me crazy. I like surprises! And whoever comes after me is going to have a lovely surprise arbor to burst into view when his or her visitors drop by and drive slowly by THE PINE TREE. Color splash indeed!
I'm sure THE PINE TREE has already outlived the genius who planted it. I'm sure it will outlive me. But it will spend its days surrounded by beauty to compliment its own. I should put a bench here in the middle of the arbor so that when I get tired of walking around THE PINE TREE zone and surprising myself with the loveliness that is hiding around "every turn," I can sit and rest awhile. And surprise my visitors as they come creeping down my driveway.
Flower progressions for THE PINE TREE zone--not counting the year around greenness, the spring and summer scarlet cones, and, naturally, the snow covered branches of winter:
March: crocus
April: tulips, grape hyacinth, hyacinth, daffodils
May: dwarf iris, German iris, Dutch iris, bluebells, coral bells, lavender mountain lilies, allium, honey garlic
June: lilies, foxglove, roses, bee balm (snapdragon, dahlia)
July: coneflowers, hollyhocks, hibiscus, balloon flowers, (cosmos, gladiolas, morning glory, larkspur)
August: flower-of-an-hour
September: monkshood, re-blooming iris, red aster
November: mums, fall crocus, topaz fall daffodils
Walking tours are free--with or without a guide.
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