J is for Japanese Maples

The Japanese maple is probably my favorite tree. One of my neighbors has fourteen different varieties in his backyard. Considering the small lot size of living in the city, that is extra impressive.

My father bought me my very first Japanese maple, for when I put in the large side bed.

Later I added one that has more delicate leaves, but I'll be darned if I can find a picture of it right now.

Last summer I was ecstatic when I found a nursery that comes to the Rochester Public Market. The man always had different varieties of Japanese maples, and they were quite affordable. I bought four new kinds. One was a green version with those lacy leaves. Another one had green leaves that looked like the one in the picture. Another one had green leaves that turn red in the fall. And the fourth one was a combination of red and green leaves. I had dreams of planting them all over the yard.

And then I got sick.

I never did get those trees planted. They stayed in their pots all winter long. I didn't even winterize them. Last time I checked, a couple of weeks ago, they weren't budding at all. Then again, it was still kind of early. But I fear that they didn't make it. A couple of them seemed really dried out and quite dead. It is kind of depressing.

I guess I had better start saving up and hope my "friend" is at the market again!