The crew from Harmony Nurseries came out and installed the new maple tree in about an hour, with minimal damage to everything else.
It’s a Good Thing that the little flags were placed to figure out where the utility lines are, since the original tree placement would have been smack-dab on our gas line. Shifted things over about three feet and voila.
The photo here doesn’t do it justice, but a look from across the street shows that the tree suddenly adds depth and substance to that whole side the yard, which was suffering a bit from the wide, unpopulated deck and the rocky path/swale down to the grass. Serious visual win here.
We have to water it about 2 gallons a day for the next three weeks, to get it settled in. Fortunately, it’s on the drip line, so I can set a second cycle for that line to run daily. Everything else will be over-watered, but I think it’ll survive. I’ll install the heads on it tomorrow. The support stakes are recommended for a year and a half, so Fall 2010 (noted here for the record).
Very happy about our new tree. Glee!