Compost Trees

                When the hazelnut tree came down last summer, it left a huge hole in the back corner. For years, the brushy tree had shaded Mark’s compost area and hidden it from the alley. Now, he feels exposed. Today, we moved towards changing that.  First, we planted a small grafted plum tree to replace the huge, end of its life, plum that arches over the back yard and Mark has always loved (I pick up most of the dropped fruit…). The plums are small and yellow and the tree is old—it  usually grows mushrooms in September.  A few years ago, Mark grafted a branch to a sucker in the front yard, and it took. We moved the sapling into a pot and, today, into the ground. We were careful to not plant under the power lines. The corner was still empty, so we planted a native elderberry to arch over the compost hoops. The elderberry was a cutting from a friend that had also been living in a pot. It had an amazing rootball, so I am hopeful. We are still thinking about some tall, waving grasses to mark an entrance and screen the piles from view while we eat dinner, but at least a start has been made.