my new tree

We bought and planted a tree this weekend! While I had decided on a Flowering Dogwood, I fell in love with another tree at Home Depot--a Kousa Dogwood, cousin to the Flowering Dogwood. I just couldn't resist this eight-foot, nicely shaped beauty. One of the reasons I wanted a Flowering Dogwood was because it's native to this region; the Kousa is native to Japan, Korea, and China. But the Kousa is more pest and disease resistant and gets taller, both plusses. It has a later and longer bloom period and is more upright than sprawling. Just two days after being planted, tiny green leaves are beginning to break out of the little buds. I'm excited to see if it flowers this year!

Of course, now we have a big square of dirt with only the tree planted, so it seems lonely. Next step--deciding what to plant around it.