"Are you sure you have a good spot for this one?" I couldn't mistake the concern in her face.

I assured her that I'd done my homework and that this hard-to-propagate southeastern U.S. native understory tree would have a good home.

The tree was a two-winged silverbell (Halesia diptera), and I'm proud to report it is now 20 feet tall, 12 feet wide and currently covered in a breathtaking array of pure white bell-like flowers. When this tree blooms, it outshines the dogwoods flowering at the same time, and that's saying something in my dogwood-decorated yard.

I did my homework before I planted this beauty, not technically native to North Carolina (its close relative, Halesia carolina, is). It is shaded from the hot western sun by a grove of mature pines. At a forest edge, it gets plenty of sun and access to rain. Its roots nestle in the moist sandy loam that makes my yard such a pleasure to dig. Other than a little supplemental water during its first year, I haven't done anything to it but a bit of pruning and a lot of praising.

I've found that's all most plants need -- the perfect spot, an occasional drink and plenty of compliments. Perhaps that's all any of us needs.

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