I grew up on Buttonball Lane in Glastonbury, Connecticut, and these gigantic trees lined our yard. Buttonballs are part of the American Sycamore family (Platanus occidentalis), and grow hundreds of feet tall—and are very wide. They also yield thousands upon thousands of dinner plate-sized leaves, which we raked every Autumn.

Not only did I rake humongous piles of these leaves, I played in them, hurled them at my sister, and learned to ride a bike by crashing into our raked-up piles. This photo shows my kids hugging one of the huge trees in my childhood yard.

During the 17th and 18th century, buttonball trees were planted at the door of newlyweds due to their longevity. My Connecticut hometown was founded in 1693, but I suspect our four trees preceded the town's birth.