There used to be a telephone pole in the front yard at my parents' house, surrounded by dahlias or some other spring flower. I don't really remember for sure what they were.

I remember that the flowers, no matter how many times I mowed them off throughout the year, always came back in the spring. In fact, they usually seemed as vibrant or more vibrant than the year before.

I planted a few spring flowers on my land several years ago, but have yet to see them come up with the same vigor or beauty that those other flowers had. I think the acid level of my soil is too high and the place they are set has too much shade.

Even so, I still plan on putting in even more flowers before spring. I ordered up a few seed catalogs the other day on the Internet.

I will probably put mostly all bulbs, since they seem to be the most hardy and they also return each year. At one time I didn't even like to plant flowers — they seemed useless to me. But quiet beauty is something that I have come to appreciate. In my former way of thinking, I hadn't seen the point in planting annuals, either. But I had a good experience with zinnias this year. They bloomed most of the summer,

while most perennials just bloom during one part of the year. One notable exception is my favorite plant, my black knight butterfly bush. It was lovely again this year, even though it is still recovering from an injury. during a recent windstorm, it was partially uprooted. It was my fault, since I didn't trim it last season. I tried to tamp dirt around it and tied it up with ropes. I hope it recovers in full by next summer.

I also need to get to work on moving some of my fruit trees. I have many of them in places where they are not growing well, while others are just in the way. As far as I can tell, I need to move at least four and maybe five young trees.

I have three cherry trees (one early Richmond, one black tartarian and a red bing that are blocking access to various areas on my property and one Santa Rosa plum that makes it difficult to get close to my building or near my front porch with the truck. I have been clearing around the house each year and the early placement of the trees and such seems cramped now, whereas it seemed well spaced when my home was peering out of a small clearing in the forest. Now they all need a new home on the hill.

The sudden interest in trees has to do with the time of year. They are supposed to be transplanted when the sap goes down, usually by very late fall or early winter. That gives them the best chance of survival when they ‘wake up' again in the spring.

I am trying to get everything in order by spring so that I can keep the weeds and brush under control this year. Some parts of my land got completely grown over, especially one clearing that taken over covered by poke weed. In case you don't know, poke has purple stalks and berries and gets to be a pretty good size. However, if you cut it young, you can cut the leaves off and make poke salad. The berries are poisonous and stain everything they touch.

I also have planted a few things that I can't remember the names for. One is a bush with little orange berries that kind of reminds me of an octopus. It has tripled in size over the past two years or so.

Another is a little bush with white flowers that has never grown much bigger than a flower pot. It is still pretty every year, with its lace-like flowers covering it like snow.

I usually put the tags that come with the plants under a rock or on a stick nearby, but some gave way to age or just seemed to disappear over time.

There is something about planting things that brings with it a certain level of inner peace. In fact, when I see a beautiful plant growing in a place that just feels right, I feel a certain harmony with the world. Even though I didn't have very much to do with the plant's success or growth, I feel almost like its parent in some ways.

After I plant them, I like to go and check on them about once a week, just to see how they are doing. I also like to give my plants some water and fertilizer when I feel like they need it, mainly for another excuse to visit. Some plants, like the wild raspberries that spring up near the road, are less welcoming than others. Raspberries and blackberries are only friendly in season.

Those brambles are one of the wild plants that I enjoy as much or more than the ones I introduced, but there are others. There is one special tree that grew sideways for awhile before straightening up that I like to sit on like a bench. There is another old hemlock that has a big circular clearing beneath it surrounded by laurels that I like to visit in the summer. It always seems to be cool and quiet there beneath its boughs. Sadly, I am going to have to cut it down soon, since aphids moved in. I will probably lose at least 10 majestic old hemlocks, all like friends. I bet it felt like that when all the chestnut trees died, a time once hard for me to imagine.

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