The great Book Transfer: Halfway there

I've finished stripping the larger of the two wall units of its books. Four cartons remain to be lugged upstairs by Roy and then unpacked by me. We'll start on the next unit this weekend, I think.

I am toying with the idea of cataloging them all on LibraryThing while I'm at it.

Golden-rain Tree

From the seed packet:
Golden-rain Tree, Koelreuteria paniculata.
The Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, packaged in 2006
Golden-rain Tree is a fast-growing ornamental species native to China, introduced to Britain in 1763. Its fine-textured dark green leaves are overlaid with clouds of tiny yellow blossoms in early summer, followed by prominent seed pods that rattle in the wind. Thomas Jefferson received seeds for Golden-rain Tree in 1809 from his long-time Parisian friend, Madam de Tessé. Like the seeds of many woody plants, Golden-rain Tree seeds need to be sown and exposed to cold temperatures before they will germinate. It is simplest to sow the seed in autumn, either in the ground or in a pot left outdoors through winter. Seedlings will appear in the spring. The trees grow best in sunny, well-drained sites, reaching 30 to 40 feet high. Winter-hardy in USDA Zones 6-9.
The Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants
P. O. Box 316, Charlottesville, Virginia 22901

These seeds have been kicking around the house for years. I think I bought them at The Seed Source, a booth with specialty seeds at the Philadelphia Flower Show. I don't think we went to Monticello (or Charlottesville, for that matter) in 2006. At this remove, I have no idea what was in my minds when I bought these. Possibly I was still in mourning for the little golden-rain tree I planted in the Michelle Cutner Garden.

They were in my way while I was looking for something today, and something inside me said, you have nothing to lose by planting them now, even though they were packed seven years ago. The worst that can happen is nothing, and that's where you are right now. So I planted all 35 seeds, at depths varying from 1/2" to 1-1/2", in the big planter I use for basil in the summer. If I get good germination I will have a first-world problem on my hands -- what to do with all the seedlings? I'm sure I can come up with something. There are still a couple of community gardens in the neighborhood, and perhaps one of them would let me have a few square feet for a tree nursery. Failing that, I can pot them up, put them in the sunniest spot in the back yard, and then give them away as gifts.

If we actually leave in a year or so, I can take them with me and plant them in our new place.