Pining Away

The Scotch Pine Pom Pom (Pinus sylvestris) was planted today. Preparing the spot took some effort. First, I had to remove and relocate the Mikawa Yatsubusa Japanese Maple. I decided to plant it nearby in the corner of this bed. The day lilies I located here were nice looking when blooming earlier in the season, but once finished, they looked unkept. So, I dug them up, split them, planted them in buckets and will relocate them elsewhere. Once the day lilies were out, I had enough space to replant the Mikawa Yatsubusa Japanese Maple. 

 

Given its slow growth, there should be enough space here for it to grow. It also adds a bit more structure to the space. It looks less sparse.

Planting the Pom Pom Pine was another matter. The hole I dug was huge. It had to be big enough to accommodate the plant, but I also intended to amend the soil with five bags of treated soil and fertilizer. As a result, I had to dig deep and wide. 

Once dug, I had to move the tree. With the help of my wife, we struggled to lift and move the tree. It was extremely heavy. It was not coming out of the bucket, so I had to cut it away - too bad, it was a nice bucket.

Once we had it in the whole it was not easy to move about, so adjusting it took some time. I didn't want it to go in straight, but to angle it a bit to take advantage of some of the twists and turns in the trunk, of which there were not many. Although it looks a bit crooked, the look was intentional. Sukiya style trees in Japan often have trunks that are grown in such as fashion. I am hoping to emulate that as much as possible.

 

Once planted, I replaced all the bark chips and adjusted the finished look. I think it improves the spot - it now looks like a mature tree is present and fills in the area nicely.

The tree looks good when viewing it from the East Gate as well. 

Actually, the East Gate stroll area it at the height of its bloom and looks fantastic.

Overall, I am happy with the changes. Now only time will tell if I finally have the spot in the garden finished.