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.

A Budding Hobby: Ode to Buds

I've been keeping a watchful eye on tree buds in my yard lately, tapping my toe and waiting impatiently for leaves to show. I thought I'd use this blog post to document some of the changes I've noticed. So here's the bud news roundup!

Linden tree buds in the front yard - I managed to track down the exact same bud for a before and after photo

First up, the young Japanese maple [Acer palmatum] next to my front door (dark green with some purple leaves but not sure what kind). When 3/4 of the leaves dried up last summer I pulled them off because I read that Japanese maples have a second set of leaves they can put out. While I saw the buds beneath the first set of leaves, they never opened.

 I'm pretty sure my over-watering and the direct midday sun are what caused this. Hopefully if it comes back it learns to work with the stark contrast in light.

When I removed the dried up leaves, I saw these little buds beneath where the leaves attached

I figured this tree was a total gonner, until I saw these new signs of life. Tiny buds (some extremely tiny) forming where none were before. Will this tree come back to life? Will it adapt to its mix of direct sun followed by complete shade on the north side of the house?

Ok, so these tiny Japanese maple buds aren't all that exciting to look at - but the fact that this tree isn't completely dead is pretty neat.

Linden [Tilia cordata] in the front yard busting out! My dad says Linden buds look like boxing gloves

River birch [Betula nigra] leaves emerging today, April 18