A class of 2014 baby poplar

The end of May and the last of this year’s hybrid poplars, pines and oaks finally made it into their assigned spaces. Competing priorities this year included staying ahead of rapidly growing grasses throughout the Bluecircle, thanks to regular rains, and a new garden plot. Another project, new oak flooring in the kitchen addition, came from “sustainable Appalachian forests”. It’s premature to claim success with oaks, but at least some of our tiny red oak seedlings survived the onslaught of hungry rodents under our now-departed snows.

Tree flags keep the tiny trees mostly safe from mowers and sprayers.