Cutleaf Japanese Maple growing by euonymus and hosta
This is my first Japanese Maple, planted several years ago in my zone 5 garden. After it's first winter, it stood as a single vertical stick in the garden, pointing to the sky, stripped of all it's branches, seemingly lifeless.
Normally I dig up the lifeless and put them on the compost pile. Hoping for a miracle, I decided to give this tree a little more time, until Mother's Day, just in case. On Mother's day, with shovel in hand, and ready for the inevitable, I stooped to take a closer look at the tiny burgundy buds covering the tree. Very pleasantly surprised, I realized that I had learned yet another garden lesson- Have hope, they truly may still be alive!
