Darrell Davis: A new tree for the yard

When I returned home during the weekend from the Canadian racquetball championships in Winnipeg, there was something new in my front yard.

A tree. A Linden, according to the city workers who planted it and left literature on how to care for it. I did some extra research. Linden fruit can be used for medicine, plus the trees can grow more than 100 feet high and live for hundreds of years.

It replaces the old cherry tree that suffered from some disgusting disease that infected almost all the similar trees on our block. My kids grew up climbing that tree, hiding in its leaves when they were supposed to come inside for homework. It was a sad day when that cherry tree was cut down last year; it had become part of our family, the main showpiece in our yard.

Looking at the Linden, scrawny, a few leaves on its few branches, dug into the lawn, surrounded by wood chips, supported by wires attaching it to two metal posts as I soaked it with water, I thought, we’re not going to outlive this one.