Golden Chain

Day 244: A Golden Chain tree (Laburnum) was high on the list of plants I wanted to add when I purchased my property over thirty years ago. At the time, the only "landscaping" (a term I use quite loosely here) consisted of a yew hedge, a sickly lilac and a flowering tree I could not identify to save my soul. I went so far as to take a sprig of the Whatzit Tree to a master gardener who was likewise baffled, but that's another story. My quest for a Laburnum was stymied by prices well out of my budget, and little by little, the yard filled in with other more affordable shrubs and plants. Still, I kept dreaming of a Golden Chain, and while wandering around a nursery six years ago, I spotted a weeping version among the closeout items. With the nurseryman's strong-armed help, we managed to wrestle the pot into the back seat of my car, and painstakingly bent the branches to fit against the back window without breaking any of them. When I got home, I dug the proverbial $50 hole for my newest acquisition. It's not much taller than it was that day, but it produces cascades of beautiful, fragrant golden chains to brighten my walk out to the mailbox.