Horse Chestnuts! …And Others.
Last fall just before the first hard freeze, Rich and I received 6 trees. These trees were payment for a website that Rich had made for a local nursery. Ahhh – rural living…where one can trade goods for services. In any case, these trees were labeled $156 each, so I guess we got our money’s worth. We got 4 Yellow Buckeyes (Aesculus octandra), and 2 Horsechestnuts (Aesculus hippocastanum). We planted them so late in the season, we weren’t sure they were going to make it through the winter. They all surprised us. They came through with flying colors, and all have leaves and are blooming right now. Here they are:
Yellow Buckeyes don’t have the nice flowers the Horsechestnuts have. Here are pictures from the time their first leaves opened to the flowers now open:
Below is MY little Horsechestnut tree. Rich let me put it near my greenhouse, and call it my own. YEA! I like its leaves, and the flowers are almost spectacular.
You might remember that I had planted some Caesalpinia gilliesii plants last fall (what, you DON’T remember?). Well, remember or not, I did, and I just moved one of the 2 surviving plants into its own 6-inch pot. The other one is going to go into the ground when I choose the right place. You might also remember that around the same time, I planted some mesquite trees. I put one of the 2 surviving mesquites into its own pot, also. Here they are (sorry, the pictures make it hard to see the plants), but you get the idea…)
There have been a few other things that bloomed recently. First is my horse crippler (Echinocactus texensis). The plant itself is in an 8″ pot, and in this photo, it has not been watered at all for about 5 months, so it is very shrunken. It will be put into a 10″ pot after its first watering of the season. Notice how feathery and delicate the flowers are:
Right now in the garden, there is an Allium (I have NO idea what kind. My mom planted it when she lived here) blooming. There are 2 others thinking about blooming, but this one beat them to it.
Rich and I went for a short hike recently from our house, and I took some pictures of Moab from above:
I will leave you all with this little gem – another photo from our little hike. Yep – you’re right. It IS a trailer made out of the ass end of a Geo Metro. I don’t know what to say about it either.
Nice pictures Katie. I’m so happy all the trees lived. I think they will be very content in your yard. I’ll have to come by & check out the flowers. The Geo Metro trailer is the best one I’ve seen yet in this town.
Plants are always very surprising. Are the Buckeye flowers, which I’ve never seen before,completely open? Chestnut trees are majestic! There was a row of them surrounding a corner house on the way to grade school when I was a kid. As they grow, you’ll begin to feel like you’re living in a park. Ah, the wonderful shade!
it would have sucked if they paid rich with things that died, so i’m glad your trees lived
Katie when i was a kid we used to knock the horse chestnuts out of trees in our local park and polish them, they look great in a bowl with dried flowers. But hears the question why are they called horse chestnuts, can a horse eat them without getting sick, because i know people can’t eat the dam things.
Hi Katie, the photos remind me of our visit to Moab.
The trees look great, maybe you’ll get some ‘conkers’.
Hi, all!
Dana – Yeah, I am really glad they all lived, too. They look great! I love the flowers! The Metro trailer defies description.
Sonja (AKA ‘mom’ – Yep – the buckeye flowers are as open as they get. Only one of the 4 trees got them, too, while both of the horse chestnut trees got flowers.
Hillary – I agree.
Rich – I am not sure if horses can eat them – I know I can’t. I will have to try polishing them. Sounds interesting!
Lesley – I am interested to see if I get conkers, too. I read about them, and wonder if they will be denting my greenhouse.
I recently acquired 2 horse chestnut trees also – but I managed to get mine free! – I think some cute little squirrel left me a present. Anyway – I am in Washington State – and curious as to how big they will grow – mine are actually about 2 years old. Are yours in pots or the ground. I hope mine bloom this year – it will be interesting to see.
Hi, Joanne! Thanks for visiting! My trees are in the ground, as of late last October. They are STILL blooming (as of today – May 13). I am concerned about how they will do in the heat we have here…very dry, and very hot during the summer months. The flowers are really something to look forward to! Good luck with yours!