There’s a big, gnarly tree right behind the house. The big, gnarly tree is on the south side of the house at the bottom edge of the mountain behind the house. When locating the spot to build the house I put the house site out away from the shadows of the mountain to get full sunshine into the south-facing windows all winter long. It really helps heat the house when the sun is shining. The gnarly tree bends way out into the yard past the shadow, but something about the tree enticed me to save it.
After the tree leafed out the next spring, I recognized the leaves on the tree as a Basswood or Linden, or Tilia americana from a place I lived before, about 20 miles across the county. The first time I went to one of the beekeepers’ meetings in town I was talking to the then-President and he asked where I lived and I told him Crab Orchard. He then said “Oooh, that should be a great place to keep bees because there are Basswood trees there”.
This tree and I have developed a relationship. Since it hangs way out into the yard it has been a great place to hang bird feeders. I’ve had to save it from being cut by persons who don’t understand our relationship (my boyfriend, to be exact) and explain that it isn’t a large inconvenience to drive around it when going through the back yard with the tractor. It is so tempting to hang a rope swing from, but I’m afraid it might break the tree–looks very fragile to me.
The tree doesn’t bloom every year, but when it does, OH MY GOODNESS! You can smell the blooms from the front yard and hear the bees from the road–well, maybe not that far, but it is a busy place when in bloom. The tree took a blooming break last year, so I’m hoping this year will be another spectacular season for bloom.
There’s a good blog written by a man who calls himself “Green Deane” and this week’s newsletter had an excellent article about this tree. You can read it here: http://www.eattheweeds.com/basswood-tree-linden-lime-tree/. I didn’t realize the tree had so many uses AND is edible! Hmmmm, Linden leaf salad for lunch 🙂
Several years ago a lady for whom I was doing landscaping maintenance made a trip to Europe. She came back with a leaf and asked me to identify it. I took the leaf home and studied it and I swore it looked like Tilia. After researching a bit more I was sure that’s what it was so I took it back to her and asked her if it was called a Lime Tree and she smiled and said she thought that’s what it was. She remembered the blooms from when she lived over there.
This past winter I thought the tree was a goner. During the ice storm we had in February the tree was almost bent to the ground, and the bird feeder, which is usually about 8 feet off the ground, was laying on the ground. Now it’s back to normal. At some point in time I know the contorted and damaged trunk will no longer hold up the weight of the tree, but for now I enjoy its company and hopefully the bees will get to enjoy its blossoms this season.
Wild Things Farm 