Tale of a tall, beautiful birch tree

Our very tall paper birch tree with branches broken in a recent storm

Weeping mulberry cut in half from the birch tree branches

On June 30 of this year, a wind storm blew through Scott County, Iowa, and some great, solid branches from a 60-foot birch tree fell, first hitting a weeping mulberry tree about 40 feet below. The actions broke off half of the smaller tree but prevented damage to the deck, or home exterior.

The tree's owner (me) was in Montana at the time. Neighbors who saw the carnage took pictures and sent them to us. This was difficult news, indeed.

Talk to any person who hails from Minnesota and you will probably hear a few common themes: They love lakes, swimming or fishing, and the birch trees around the state are gorgeous.

I haven't lived in Minnesota since 1969 but I still love birch trees, and bought and planted seven of them on our acreage in northern Scott County. The biggest one, a white paper birch (betula), had grown so tall in the past 25 years or so, and a few of its branches have broken off in strong winds. Husband Steve has decided it must come down before it crashes into the house.

I cannot blame him for the caution, but this is the third tree we've had to recently remove from the property, and certainly the hardest one for this gardener.

This birch tree was the first one planted. We moved here in 1993 and the yard was a blank slate of grass. Slowly, we planted trees and bushes and now, 26 years later, we are proud of the results. The yard been the site of two wedding receptions, a huge graduation party, regular family gatherings and last year, a neighbor had her family pictures taken near one of the gardens.

This tree was planted about 1995. The site formerly was for a propane tank which supplied our energy needs. That was phased out and the tank was removed to leave a plot of dirt about 15 feet from the house. It would be a great area to attract wild birds, so the paper birch tree and a bird bath were purchased. Later we acquired bird feeders and a pole to hold them.

A bunch of neighbors came over to help us plant it. Mattie, who passed away recently, told us to add dead fish to the planting hole. He went back to his home, got some fish, and we threw them in the hole. I do think that helped it to grow fast.

Before we could blink it was about 20 feet tall. According to a blog, gardeningknowhow.com, paper birch trees do grow some 60 feet tall and can live more than 100 years in the wild, but 30-40 years in an urban setting. This tree is as tall as the three-story house and it is too young to die, but we sure can't tolerate a serious threat to the home.

And so it will go. That space also has an evergreen tree, which my husband bought me for our 20th wedding anniversary. That will stay. I'll move the bird feeders to be closer to the evergreen, and I haven't yet decided what to do with the rest of the space ...

Starting to dismantle the tree.