Mom's Favorite Garden Tree

Japanese Maple

Mom and Dad planted a Japanese Maple tree in the back yard many years ago, after we moved into the house in Oregon in 1959.  They planted it in a bed under the canopy of the English Walnut tree, which protected it, but may also have kept it from reaching its full growth.  The blazing red tree provided a pop of brilliant color in an otherwise dark part of the yard.

When I was a kid, I used to love sitting out in the back yard in the summer, reading a book under the walnut tree, watching whatever breeze there was ruffle the delicate leaves of the Japanese Maple.

Through the years Mom enjoyed watching the tree's leaves change colors through the seasons; it started out red in the spring, turned a greenish bronze during the hot Oregon summers, and with the first frost began changing back to the full glory of a deep, vibrant scarlet.  In the years after the walnut was finally taken down, the maple spread out and grew even more beautiful.

Fall Foliage

The maple continued to be a favorite part of the garden over the years for both Mom and Dad.  Dad used to sit beside it to paint some of his watercolors.  In Mom's later years, as her eyesight diminished and her connection with the world began to fade, the Japanese Maple remained the one thing that kept her interest.  It was her way of keeping in touch with the change of seasons; she always enjoyed telling me about its constantly changing beauty.

That's the great thing about planting a garden:  it does grow on you.