How in the world did my tree hide all that pretty red and orange color all summer long? When learned long ago that all the colors of fall were there all along in the leaves of summer, but they were masked by the green of chlorophyll. We couldn't see them because the tree was working diligently, steadily on its job of photosynthesis, which requires that green pigment, chlorophyll. Then as the days grew shorter and cooler, the tree slowed down its work of photosynthesis, slowed down its … [Read more...] about My Tree Was Hiding These Beautiful Colors!
trees
2019: A Mast Year for Trees
They are declaring 2019 is a mast year for trees. A mast year is when all kinds of trees collectively produce more than their normal amount of seed. Really, look it up. Just do an online search for "mast year 2019" and behold all the articles and posts about this phenomenon. You can also read that scientists and others don't really understand how it is that all the trees seem to coordinate their efforts, so to speak, to abundantly flower and produce massive amounts of seed in the same … [Read more...] about 2019: A Mast Year for Trees
Eulogy for a Tree
The other day, my sister, who lives with her family in the house we all grew up in, sent out a text to let us know a crew was cutting down the maple tree in the front yard the next morning. Without hesitation, I changed all my plans for the day so I could be present for the last moments of this once grand and glorious tree that we grew up with. My Dad planted this tree, and many others, when we first moved there when I was a toddler. I assume I was there for the planting, perhaps … [Read more...] about Eulogy for a Tree
I took my tree to Tree Court
I took my tree to Tree Court. I'm breaking up with it. Me: Your Honor, this tree has not performed its tree duties in the almost seven years it has been taking up residence in my garden. It refuses to have flaking bark like other paperbark maple trees and has barely grown since it was planted. At one point, Your Honor, my sister thought it was a weed tree that I just let grow there. The Judge: Does the tree have anything to say in its defense? Silence. Crickets chirping. The … [Read more...] about I took my tree to Tree Court
They say only the best trees are chosen
The birds flew away when they saw the camera. They say only the best trees are chosen... Oh, pardon me. Before I get too far along with this blog post, let me introduce myself. I am Malus 'Guinzam', but most folks just call me Guinevere®. I'm a flowering crabapple tree. Having said that I know just what you are thinking. Diseases! Crabapples dropping everywhere! But that's not me! I have the prettiest dark pink buds that turn pinkish-white as they open around the middle of April. … [Read more...] about They say only the best trees are chosen
What does it do?
"What does it do?" is a question a friend of mine often asks me when she goes with me to a garden center. As we walk among the trees and shrubs, I'm thinking Fothergill gardenii, great fall foliage, Syringa, love the smell of the blooms in the spring and mom really liked those flowers, Rhodendendron, rarely a good choice around here, Potentilla fruticosa, related to roses Cotinus coggygria, weird flowers supposed to look like plumes of smoke from a distance and needs to be whacked back to … [Read more...] about What does it do?
