Decades ago when we lived in Chicago, there was a Ginkgo tree that we would walk pas on our way to and from the library. At the time, I didn’t know much about that type of tree. I had never seen one growing in the mountains of my native Montana. Someone told me that the Ginkgo was the oldest tree used in ornamental landscaping. The Ginkgo is literally a living fossil. Fossils of the leaves have been dated in the range of 270 million years old.

The trees that appear in landscaping in the United States draw their heritage from the rediscovery of the Ginkgo in 1691 in China. Ginkgo seeds and trees were brought to the United States in the late 1700s. The trees are revered in China as a source of medicine. Ginkgo biloba is a popular dietary supplement and one of the top=selling herbal medicines. Ginkgo biloba extract is collected from the dried green leaves of the plant and is available as a liquid extracts, capsules, and tablets.

We bought our house out here in October, when the leaves of the trees were turning and falling from the plants. I noticed brilliant yellow leaves on one of the trees in the back yard, but didn’t think much about it. I guess I was in a hurry when I raked up the leaves and not paying attention. I would think I would have noticed the distinctive fan shape of the Ginkgo leaves, but somehow I didn’t. It wasn’t until this spring that I began to investigate the various plants that are growing in our yard and I was surprised to find that the tree growing in the northeast corner of our lot is indeed a Ginkgo tree.

It is covered in beautiful white blossoms at the present - a real visual treat each time I look out the north windows of our house or step out onto our back deck.

I know that the tree in our back yard is very young. It hasn’t been long since this area was a forest of black birch trees - the trees for which Birch Bay its named. The birch trees grow quickly and have shallow root systems. While they tolerate the moist ground, they often fall in high winds and we get plenty of wind around here. New trees are constantly springing from the rich soil. Within our subdivision, however, the plants are carefully selected by people who know something about landscaping. And, walking around the neighborhood, I have discovered that the landscapers had a thing for Ginkgo trees. There are several of them on our street and on neighboring streets as well. The blossoms add to the beauty of the cherry and crab apple trees growing in the neighborhood, but the distinctive shape of the trees and the leaves that will soon emerge, make the Ginkgo trees stand out.

It is yet another reminder that we have migrated to a new place. For 25 years the only trees in our yard were ponderosa pine trees plus a few spruce trees that we planted. The spruce trees need a bit of water and we failed to properly establish some of them in our early years of home ownership in the Black Hills. The neighbor to the west had aspen planted in their yard and the trees quickly were thriving with their brilliant yellow color in the fall. There are also a few birch in the hills, but far and away the most common tree in the forest is the ponderosa pine. We loved living adjacent to a pine forest. I loved the sound of the wind in the trees, the crunch of needles underfoot during the dry parts of the year, and the smell of the pines. I was less enamored with the annual spring pollen dump when pollen coated everything including the house, the car and the yard. Clouds of pollen would be raised by the lawn mover the first few times I mowed in the spring.

My nose is teaching me that there are different kinds of pollen around here. Our back deck is covered in pollen, but there are no nearby pine trees. The pollen must be coming from the ornamental trees in our neighborhood - perhaps from the Ginkgo as well as from other plants in the area. I know that after I have lived in this area for a few years, my body will adjust to the plants that grow here and I will be less affected by seasonal allergies. I’m not suffering, but I am aware that things have changed in my life.

The Ginkgo tree is an unexpected bonus of this house we have selected to live in for a few years. I don’t know if the harsh winters in South Dakota or the lack of soil moisture is the reason we didn’t see Ginkgo trees in Rapid City. I know that the trees don’t grow well in hot, dry climates, but the Black Hills are hardly a desert, so I’m going with the below zero temperatures in the winter, without really knowing what I’m talking about.

Trees have an additional value because they live longer than the humans who plant them. Planting a tree is an investment in a future that extends beyond the life span of the one who plants it. That makes it a noble task, whether it is a common tree, replacing one that had previously grown in the area, or something more exotic, like the Ginkgo tree that previous homeowners planted in our back yard.

We are finally getting around to thinking of which plants we want to add to the landscaping. Certainly we will be planting plenty of flower bulbs in the fall. It is a shame not to have tulips, crocus, and grape hyacinth in an area where they grow so freely and beautifully. We don’t have deer in our immediate neighborhood, so I won’t have to fence them out of the bulb plants. We’ll also plant a few annuals this year simply because we enjoy the flowers. We’ll have to plant a few dahlias because our son is growing them. We’ll enjoy adding the color to our neighborhood.

In the meantime, we are enjoying a spectacular view of our Ginkgo tree and remembering the stories of the trees that we have learned along our life’s journey.