Bald Cypress in Front Yard Replacing Wind Damaged Linden Tree

Nature has a way of making decisions for us sometimes. In my case, it was a strong gust of wind that reshaped the look of my front yard. For years, I had a small linden tree standing there, providing shade and a bit of greenery. But one stormy day, the wind proved too much for it. The tree snapped in half, leaving me with a difficult choice: what to plant there instead?

It was a bit sad to see the linden go. It had been a part of my yard for a while, but once it was damaged beyond saving, there was no point in keeping a broken tree around. 

With the old tree gone, I had the perfect opportunity to upgrade. After some research, I settled on planting a bald cypress. Why? Because bald cypress is an incredible tree. It’s unique, hardy, and has a striking appearance. Unlike the linden, which was relatively small and modest, the bald cypress has the potential to grow into something truly majestic.

Bald cypresses are known for their feathery, bright green needles that turn a stunning rusty orange in the fall. They can grow tall—really tall—sometimes reaching heights of 70 feet or more. The best part? My front yard now has plenty of space for it to spread out and thrive.

Rather than leaving an unsightly hole in my yard, I decided to make it look like the linden had never even been there. I carefully cut out a patch of sod, removed the stump, and then laid the sod back over the spot. It was like a magic trick—the old tree was gone, and the lawn looked untouched, as if the builders had never planted a linden there in the first place.

The small linden stump was taken out with an axe and the sod from the new bald cypress hole perfectly fit

You can't even tell there used to be a tree there!

In a way, that storm did me a favor. It gave me the push I needed to replace the linden with a tree that will grow into something truly spectacular. Years from now, when I look at the towering bald cypress, I’ll remember how it all started—with a gust of wind and a fresh start.

Turn Off a Single Sprinkler Head While Leaving the Rest On

That's right baby, we had a super hot June so I bit the bullet and got a sprinkler system installed. But after it was installed, I noticed one spot in the side yard would get way too soggy and hold water. I wanted to turn off just one of the heads, but how? I tried twisting it and just making it very low flow, but it would still fill the area with water - plus my neighbor has sprinklers aiming at the same exact spot. 

After doing some research online and watching about a dozen YouTube videos, I found out it's really hard to permanently turn off a single sprinkler head, but it is possible. I also found that luckily the head I was trying to turn off was this Hunter kind, and I found they sell tips for it. You can buy a nozzle that is basically a shut off nozzle, it's just a small cap that is threaded to go on where the spray tip would normally go. 

To install it you pull up on the head (hard enough because the spring is trying to pull it back down) and then unscrew the tip with the sprayer and replace with the solid plastic nozzle cap. 

These longer range sprayers (black cap on top) don't have an easy shut off nozzle that screws on, just the colored Hunter kind like the red one above.

It worked like a charm on my very first try, I kept the tip in a drawer and I actually put it back on for when they came to blow out the system in the fall because I wasn't sure if having a solid stop nozzle would do anything when they are trying to blow it out. But once they turn it back on, I can just go unscrew the red cap and put the solid one on again. 

The Hunter shut off nozzle was 3 for $2 on Sprinkler Supply or you can get one at a time on Amazon but they are more expensive. The part was called Hunter - 916400SP - Hunter Pro-Spray Shut-Off Nozzle Cap / Nozzle.

Had sprinkler install company draw with marker on a map of my house showing where they put the lines

For reference if anyone is curious, we have 0.27 acres and ended up getting 6 zones for $5344 about 32 sprinkler heads I think. I got the company to draw where they put the lines, they normally say just take a bunch of pictures of your yard after it's installed, but I had a print off ready and said draw with a marker where you put everything. 

One month after sprinkler install

Two months after sprinkler install

Hand Pick Japanese Beetles from Plants (No Traps) and Other Tips

It's that time of the year when you start to notice Japanese beetles getting into your yard and eating your trees and shrubs. They are quite beautiful beetles actually with rainbow oil slick looking wing coverings and they are harmless to humans because they don't bite or sting. But they will run rampant in the yard if you are not on the lookout for them. Here are a few tips I've picked up over the years dealing with Japanese beetles. 

1. Look for their characteristic "skeletonized" leaves - the beetles eat the fleshy part of the leaf and leave the veins, so if you see skeleton leaves this is a tell tale sign of Japanese beetle damage. 

2. Hand picking Japanese beetles from plants can be effective early intervention and prevention - If your yard is not yet overrun and you just notice a few, pick them off the plants and get rid of them. When they feed they release a scent that attracts EVEN MORE Japanese beetles, basically ringing the dinner bell. You don't need to spray insect killer on your whole plant or yard just because you see a few, but remember they are sending out an invisible signal to their friends. 

The technique I like to use to get them off the plants is to hold a cup of water under them before I grab them. When they are disturbed their defense mechanism is to drop to the ground, so if you are trying to get them by hand they might slip away. If you hold a cup of water under them first they will drop into the water. They are lousy swimmers and the water will prevent them from flying away as you walk around the yard looking for more. This is also why you see people put buckets of water underneath Japanese beetle traps to catch the ones that fall off. 

3. Do not use traps - Remember how I said the Japanese beetles release a scent that attracts other beetles to the feast? The bait used in Japanese beetle traps uses the same scene, essentially attracting EVEN MORE to your yard. I heard a funny expression once that Japanese beetle traps are the perfect gift for your neighbor 5 houses down. If things get really bad I just end up spraying my trees with an insect killer spray. 

4. Remember the plants that usually get hit - In my yard I can usually spot them on Buckthorn Fineline, River Birch, and Linden trees. These seem to be their favorite at least where I live. I never see them on boxwoods or roses for example, so I don't bother looking there unless I see "skeletonized" leaves first.