The Beautiful Beech Tree

In the Winter there are a few trees that hold their leaves; the beech tree is one of them.  When riding with my husband one afternoon near the swamp, we were impressed with these beautiful trees with their copper colored leaves.  The beech tree grows thoughout our forest, and when looking at the large trees, smaller trees can be seen that have come up from the roots. Since the beech tree is one of my favorite trees,  I have transplanted three of these wonderful trees near our house.  They seem to like their new locations, but my husband says you will never live to see them as a full grown trees.  I am sure that is true because I have read that they live to be 300 to 400 years old.  But that is what gardening is all about; just planting a tree, a bush or a perennial and watching it grow.  One has to be a gardener to understand.........  

These are pictures of an old tree in the Swamp that was probably alive when the Indians lived here.   The old tree is too much tree for my camera.  The smaller trees are closer to the house on higher ground and have probably sprouted from the roots of older trees that were harvested.  The smallest tree is one that I planted,and it survived the hot, dry summer of 2010.  I will never see the full grown tree, but it is so much fun to watch it grow.  So if anyone ever gives you a sprout of a beech tree, plant it and watch it turn into a beautiful tree for all seasons.

Pines grow well in red clay, but roses, irises and some fruit trees, such as huckleberry and plum, like clay soil too. 

As I previously said, I could hardly dig a hole to plant a flower after we moved in, but I had been given some old-fashioned roses by a friend, and I was determined that they would be planted.  Old-fashioned roses have a good survival rate and are pretty easy to grow (disease resistant, etc.).  I planted a pink shrub rose next to the house, and shortly after planting it began to grow bearing many new buds.   I also planted a climber named Joseph's Coat, and it began putting on new growth.  The soil was mainly clay with some sand; I did mulch with pine straw and oak leaves.  These two roses were at the back steps where friends and family entered the house, and I had so many compliments.  I was so proud; my first rose that actually bloomed. 

Irises also do well in clay soil.  I planted some that my mother had given to me, and I was sure that they would not live.  Remember this is soil that is very compacted;  I was very lucky, though, for isises like to be planted very shallow.  I planted two rows of about ten to twelve bunches, added some "Sod Buster" (not too much), and pine bark mulch; the irises loved it.  The leaves were so pretty and green, they began to multiply, and bloomed about two weeks around the first of April.  I will have to admit, after several years they began to get too thick and did not do as well.  Time to transplant. 

Remember that red clay soil is a good thing.  Don't frown like I did when you see it.  This pretty red clay will reward you most of the time if you chose the right plants, add some amendments, and cover your plants with mulch.  Have fun planting.   

Red Clay Soil

When we decided to move to the woods, we could not settle on where to build the house. We did not want to be too far back in the woods, and we searched for level land with a high elevation. I had a picture in mind that was full of tall pine trees and a few beautiful oaks growing in dark, rich, fertile soil. However, the site that we picked had been cut over, and was now overgrown with thick brush, poison ivy, thorny vines and sweet gum trees. Time for dozier work. After the dozier completed his work, the only thing that we could see was hard, compacted, red, clay soil. The builder assured us that it was a perfect site for a house because it would allow for a strong foundation. When I asked him how would I ever get anything to grow in this soil, he just reinforced his words about a strong foundation. Since we had lived in Baldwin County all of our lives, the only plants that I had grown were azaleas and crepe myrtles. I was sure they would not grow here. And the soil was so hard that I could not even did a hole. Time for plan B.

There were tall pines in the woods that were so pretty and green, and they seemed to flourish in the red clay. But I had never planted a tree in my life; I wanted shrubs and flowers. God planted the trees in the forest, for they all reseeded themselves from older trees. But I did plant a few below the house that survived. Planting a tree is rewarding; it puts a lasting landmark on the land and watching them grow is gratifying and can be financially rewarding.

Red clay road between  the pines.

Beautiful spruce pine.

Pines growing out of the rocks.