How Does My Mulberry Grow?

Yesterday I threatened to blog about the blossoms in our yard. It seems remarkable that the nectar eaters all arrive within a day and there are plenty of blossoms to feed them. Both types of orioles, the hummingbirds and the catbird all arrived together and in time to feast in our yard. One colony of bees has also been reestablished.

A walk around the house shows apple, crab apple, cherry and pear trees in bloom.

We have an ash tree that we had treated for emerald ash borer last year. We hope it survives.

You would think we had done enough to the grounds, and you probably be correct. We had a pesky groundhog that lived under the garage and we had to dig him out. So we had a stone patio installed to discourage him from digging a new hole there.

Mark has been looking for a mulberry tree to add to his collection of fruit trees. Matt Gunn found one that needed to make way for a swimming pool.

The first step was to extract it from where it was unwanted and then transport it to Newmarket.

Next planting the Mulberry tree.

The guess was a fifty percent chance of survival. Color me dubious.

That should have been sufficient for any reasonable person. Last year we planted a Sumac hedge in between the two rock walls on the eastern end of our property. This was a road for the cows to get to he bay to feed on the seagrass. When we bought the property is was densely wooded and infested with invasive plants. However it did provide good cover for interstitial species such as the American Woodcock. However, there was a sumac blight and the hedge sprouted and promptly died.

Wanting to reestablish the ground cover with native plants, we had thirty bayberry bushes backed by ten viburnum to fill the space. The bayberry were planted eight feet apart and eventually will grow eight feet wide and eight feet tall. The viburnum will get roughly twice as big. It will take a few years but I would like to see the critters come back and thrive.

I was so happy to see the mulberry budding, that I got a little help to celebrate.

Mulberry morning—
purple stains on fingertips,
birds sing drunk with joy

How Does My Mulberry Grow?

In springtime’s tender, warming light,
A seedling stirs, begins its flight.
From soil’s embrace, a sprout ascends,
Its journey starts as earth transcends.

With leaves of green, it greets the sun,
Each day a new leaf has begun.
Through gentle rains and summer’s glow,
My mulberry begins to grow.

Its branches stretch, a leafy dome,
Providing shade, a verdant home.
For birds that sing and bees that hum,
A symphony has just begun.

Then blossoms bloom, so soft and white,
A fragrant promise of delight.
Transformed by time, these flowers small,
Become the berries that enthrall.

Deep purple gems, so sweet and round,
In clusters on the tree are found.
A feast for all, both bird and man,
A gift that nature’s hand began.

So year by year, through sun and snow,
That’s how my mulberry does grow.
A tale of life from seed to tree,
A marvel for the world to see.

Mark, Wink and Chat GPT