Our very own forest in the middle of the city.

A little over a month ago I was searching Glendale Water and Power's website looking for their water conservation information when I came upon their energy conservation section. It said that they would provide three free semi-mature trees that would eventually provide shade for your home and cut down on the cost of power for air conditioners, etc. I was so excited because larger trees are not necessarily cheap, but also they have an arborist who comes out to your home to help you choose what type of tree would be best and where to place it. I have no problem picking out fruit trees, but when it comes to other trees, I have no idea what does well in California, etc.

The arborist came by the house and after viewing the yard, etc, we went through a book of about thirty trees. We finally decided on two tipuanas, one for the front yard and one for the back. Then we also picked a golden medallion for the back yard, which is a smaller tree that will have beautiful yellow flowers in the spring.

The morning the trees were supposed to arrive, I was like a child waiting for Christmas morning. The truck finally showed up and dropped off the three trees, stakes, and everything else we would need.

Then we got started on putting them in the ground.


Sunny and Simba were definitely interested in what was going on.


Rommel did most of the manual labor, such as digging the holes and moving the trees. I basically told him what to do, which I didn't mind too much.


After putting a border around them and putting down some mulch, we thought we were done. Then Simba decided he would bury his raw chicken leg under the tree, which meant we could not even get near it. Here he is guarding his prize.


So we put some fencing around each tree for now and they look great.


The tipuana that went in the front yard was in the best shape, but hopefully after a few months, they will all start growing.


I also transplanted the tiny orange tree we had near the tortoise enclosure so that it was more out in the center of the yard. It was not getting enough sun and water in the corner where it was, so I wanted to place it somewhere that was more open.