The Backstory
Nick and Katelin from Ephrata moved into an older house that had previously belonged to an elderly family member. In the initial years, they began to renovate the interior of the home but recently started to turn their attention to the surrounding landscaping, lawn, and trees. The shrubbery was badly over-grown. There was a monstrous Holly tree towering over the house, and the lawn was in bad shape. As the first phase in their landscape project, they tore out the old shrubs and took down the Holly. Most recently, they re-graded and seeded the lawn areas.
How to Win the Free Tree
When we teamed up with WJTL FM 90.3 this spring for the Arbor Day Tree Give-Away, Katelin entered the contest. Contestants could try their chances to be randomly picked to win a new tree planted on the property. We gave them 6 varieties to choose from, 2 shade trees, 2 ornamental trees, and 2 evergreen trees. Nick & Katelin were the lucky winners. When I called Katelin, she was thrilled about their win.
What’s Next?
We went out to meet with her and we talked about the tree choices and the possible locations. After finding out that one of their next projects is to build a deck on the back of their house, we reached the conclusion that a shade tree in the back lawn near the deck would be best. This part of their lawn gets plenty of sunshine as it faces southwest. Winning the contest for a free tree came at an excellent time! Planting a tree now instead of years later will give them some shade for their deck sooner than later.
To make things even greater, when our landscape installation crew went to pick up the tree, the nursery didn’t have the size we were planning on and gave us a larger tree at the same price. This meant that Nick & Katelin got a 3″-3.5″ caliper Red Sunset Maple, which towers at a 15′ height. It won’t be long before they and their dog Cooper will be enjoying the shade from this Maple tree when its leaves open in the next couple weeks. We added some mulch around the base of the tree and I gave them some detailed watering instructions to keep their tree alive over the next couple years.
Congrats!
Congratulations to Nick & Katelin! We hope you enjoy your tree for the decades to come. Thanks to all of you who entered this promotion. If you would ever want to talk to us about tree planting or any of the other landscaping, lawn care, tree care, or pest control services we provide, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
