I have always loved trees. Most of this lot still has the original big pine trees and red maples. There are three types of pines, and one has to look closely to tell them apart: Long Leaf Pines. Loblolly Pines, and Black Pines. It is common for people in this area to remove way too many of these old pines. Then they discover that during thunderstorms, the tall pines take the lightning strikes. Installing a lightning protection system on their homes is expensive. In the 28 years we have lived here, I have lost six tall pines to lightning strikes and one to a tornado that twisted a two-foot diameter tree off and tossed it aside like a twig.
There is an assortment of Crape Myrtles. Wax Myrtles, Pignut Hickories, and what not including around 60 Azaleas (white, red, and pink.)
The wildlife enjoys my backyard, and I like having them.
I have added seven Japanese Maples of four different species including one dwarf. Not only are they pretty (red, green and golden) but they are excellent for erosion control.
The nine Tea Olive trees bring a wonderful scent to the yard and provide a visual barrier to the junk that my neighbor on the left often drags into his driveway.
I put in two live oaks including one that was delivered with a four-hundred-pound root ball. They are great trees and replaced two River Berch trees that were very messy and died on their own. They were, however, very good for erosion control.
Two Water Oaks that are very good for erosion control wand replaced a Weeping Willow that died on its own,
Two Redbud trees that are doing fine along with three white dogwoods, and two Cherry Blossum Trees that are struggling a bit.
In many ways, I am a "Tree Collector."