Yesterday I took delivery of a large non-fruit-bearing olive tree in a 48” square root box. It is sitting on my upper driveway, having been delivered by my friends at Javier Nursery. I used to say that Moon Valley Nurseries, the land of the fully planted multi-thousand dollar trees, was the only place that had good tree stock from which to choose, but I have changed my mind. My buddy Mike used to recommend Briggs Nursery in San Marcos as the cheapest place to buy trees, but my one visit over there told me that Briggs was not for me since you had to trek through rather unkempt planting fields and select your own plants/trees out of a large assortment of so-so plants. I kept telling Mike that Javier was the place to go and that Javier himself was a friendly guy who would always cut you a reasonable deal. When Mike came back the other day with four Javier trees, I knew that my sense of value had been endorsed. I took the occasion of seeing Javier at Mike’s place when he delivered those trees (all 24” boxes since Mike is much more economically minded and patient than me), to ask if he had a nice full olive tree for me. He did and I acted upon it by picking one out from the front seat of Javier’s garden buggy…and voila! It’s now on my driveway awaiting planting.
I am using this olive tree (the first one on my property) to replace a massive century plant (blue agave) that went vertical six months ago and is now showing its aging 30’ stalk on the hillside above my garage. That is the hill that is heavily boulder strewn and and can be seen from our kitchen picture window. I consider that hill to be snake alley since many a huge rattler has descended from that rocky province. But now, I must address my sadly dying agave. This is no normal sized agave. It is by far the largest on my property of perhaps 200 blue agaves I have about and around my property. I have never bought a blue agave at a nursery, so its fair to say that these have all propagated themselves by pupping and then Joventino or me transplanting them here and there. But this massive agave (it must have a diameter of 15-16’), has been there for the twelve years I have owned the place and sits at eye level, up about six feet from the driveway and pavered path around the garage. That flat area between the upper boulders is very visible from the driveway and even the kitchen, so it matters to us what gets planted there. I’ve been contemplating its replacement ever since it started its vertical ascent with its final upward thrust into immortality.
I had never considered an olive tree before this week, but it now seems like the perfect planting for that prominent spot. As everyone knows, the olive branch is a symbol of peace. Most people think of it as coming from Ancient Greece with all its olive treed hills around Athens. But there is more to the story than that. The olive branch is a form of tribute to the higher powers and divinities in our lives and it comes from all the cultures that surround the Mediterranean Sea. The branches were used like we use a white flag, as a way of showing respect to those in power that were being approached. Athena claimed possession of Athens by planting the first olive tree on the hill where the Acropolis stands. The Greek Gods favored Athena because they appreciated the olive tree for its bounty. It then became a tradition for wreaths of olive branches to be worn by brides and victors of the Olympic Games. But Romans too favored the olive trees and their branches. It appears on Roman coins and Virgil carries on the Greek tradition of honoring the humble plant by including them in his fabled Aeneid. The Romans respected both war and peace and their symbol of peace was none other than the olive branch. That all strengthened the image of this simple token of peace.
As the modern era dawned, the countries of Europe and even America embraced the olive branch as symbolizing peace, often adding a dove carrying the branch. When the United States formed itself in 1776, the Continental Congress endorsed a Great Seal of the United States and placed and olive branch, not in the mouth of a dove, but in the talons of the national bird, the American Bald Eagle. The stories and imagery of olive branches just keeps going on and on and here I am on the verge of the next great chapter in American history with the election of 2024, buying and planting a tree full of olive branches. I don’t honestly think all that symbolism caused me to buy the olive tree, but it won’t stop me from citing it coincidentally. What I will do, is use the occasion to create a metaphor.
That hilltop spot where this tree needs to go is not a convenient spot to plant. The old fibrous agave is equally not an easy history to eliminate. As beautiful as that agave was in its prime, it is now a difficult remnant to remove. It starts with a woody 30’ tree trunk that needs to be felled and cut into transportable pieces. Then there are the dozens of wilting, but equally fibrous branches/tentacles that need to be cut off. Joventino should be able to do all of that this Wednesday, leaving what I call the pineapple stump (in this case, a particularly large stump). I am contracting with Mike’s gardener, Jose, to remove the stump and plant the olive tree up on the hill. Jose and his son came over to survey the site and have concluded that it will be a heavy lift to get this spot cleared of that agave stump and its roots and then to get what is probably an 800 pound tree box up that six foot hill (they plan to use a ramp and a bunch of human muscle). I’m sure some of that is very true, but I’m equally sure that Jose is building a good story to justify his proposed pricing for the job, which I am due to receive tomorrow. I am unlikely to do anything but go forward with it, but I suppose I should wait to get a quote from him on the job before I make my final decision.
Any way you look at it, olive trees and olive branches and, for that matter, world peace do not come without their price. And as with this property project of mine, the need to do it and spend the money are not really optional at some point. The old order just gets old and ratty and the new replacement is so special and enticing that it becomes an inevitability. And, of course, the real cost is in the doing. As they always say, worthwhile things never come easy and these specific olive branches will undoubtedly be hard won when all is said and done….which should be in the course of the next week or so. How’s that for interesting timing?