I know you’ve heard the term “tree hugger” I could easily, and actually thought of by some to be one.

Trees are so precious, so very much a must in the makeup of a balanced eco-system.
Trees serve as buffers between earth and elements.

Each year I look forward to the type of trees we can add to Sage Hill’s collection.
Some are deep rooted and close to one hundred years old, some are half that age and some are of the younger generation…..some, actually most are weather-beaten, bent, and even broken with mended trunks and branches that refused to die and be no more.

So, come walk with me and meet the Sentinels of the homestead called Sage Hill. *These have been taken by Mother Nature to grace the glorious grounds of Tree heaven!

So far we have the Southern Magnolia, *Norway Spruce, Tulip Magnolia, Golden Maple, *Bradford Pear, *Plum, Japanese Maple, White Pine, Bodock, Spring Apple, Apricot, Pear, Peach, Crape Myrtle, Holly, and Cedars.
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1…The Black  Thorn or Black Locust tree is at least 100 years old, as you can see many years ago it split and managed to survive. The broken section on the ground is another split that took root and survived…..
Agent from the TN Forestry Dept. identified it as a Black Thorn or Black Locust…..the thorns are mighty and will hurt you if care isn’t taken!!

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The beautiful and ever giving American Holly…about 30 years old…parts of it has been cut away to keep it off the house….( a good point to remember) and should be stressed by landscapers….(Don’t plant trees to close to foundations.)

he American holly is extremely variable, both in the wild and in culture. More than 1,000 varieties have been named. It is generally a slow-growing tree, reaching up to 50 feet in height . Densely pyramidal in youth, it becomes more open with age. The leaves are typical of our image of a Christmas holly — thick and dark green, with spiny edges.

This tree is a female…producing green berries in the spring, which turns orange in the fall and red in the winter….the birds set up housekeeping and has a steady diet of yummy fruit all year!

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~~4…Maple trees are plentiful in Tennessee also..Sage Hill has a beautiful Sugar Maple and a Large Leaf Maple…Sugar being in the front yard by the driveway and the Big leaf is in the Bog!

Sugar Maple

5..Big Leaf

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6..White Pines…a favorite

An herb tree…pine oil is used extensively in homeopathy medicine.

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7..Hackberry….

Hackberry trees are among the best food and shelter plants for wildlife. Fruits are very important food source for both migrating and overwintering birds as well as for mammals. Host to many butterfly species including Hackberry, Question Mark and Mourning Cloak butterflies. Also larval host for some moths.

8..June Apple….Old/heirloom variety….looks like a small Granny Smith and very tart…the best for dried or making jelly, pies, etc., not a good snack apple.

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9.. Dogwood’s…Not large and only about 14 years old…beautiful in the mix

10..Crape Myrtles…some people grow these as trimmed shrub size…these are smaller tree forms about 25 to 30 years old

11.. Cortland apples, Peach, Pear, Plum and Fig

12..Granny Smith…

13..Fig

14..Plum

15..The Stately Southern Magnolia

I hope you’ve enjoyed my tour of Sage Hill trees….

Please, if you have a space, plant a tree…if you don’t have space, donate a tree to someone or some place who does…..they are one of our most valuable resources for clean air, food and shelter for wildlife and us human caretakers.

Blessings…

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Trees

Joyce Kilmer, 1886 – 1918

I think that I shall never see   
A poem lovely as a tree.   
   
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest   
Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;   
   
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;   
   
A tree that may in summer wear   
A nest of robins in her hair;   
   
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;   
Who intimately lives with rain. 
   
Poems are made by fools like me,   
But only God can make a tree.