I'm late as usual for Wildflower Wednesday hosted by Gail of clay and limestone, but I wanted to join in anyway!
The redbuds have finished blooming and are leafing out. This was the best year so far since several of the small trees have sized up enough to put on a show.
April 9, 2014. Those loopy canes are from a prairie rose (R. setigera) in the foreground.
To say that bees love this tree is an understatement.
Last year I was afraid we were going to lose this tree but it looks fine now. It's leaning away from the stand of tulip poplars just out of sight to the left. Unlike Buttercup in The Hunger Games Tommy does not defend me but flees and leaves me to my own defenses when he perceives danger and hears a car coming down the driveway. lol The white-flowering shrub in the background is a pearlbush. The brown stuff in the foreground is, as always, the old stems of Bidens that I haven't yet cleared away. There are still white-throated sparrows here, lurking among the old Bidens, making their soft lispy calls and singing "Oh Canada" in wavering tones.
This redbud was a little sapling from the National Arbor Day Foundation.
Every spring I rhapsodize about the beauty of the wild crabapples here, because their praises need to be sung. I think the tree at the edge of one of the fields in the floodway when it is in flower is the most beautiful tree period. We need to cut down more trees around it
but it is as beautiful as ever.
Your redbuds are beautiful as is the crabapple.
ReplyDeleteHappy Spring and happy Gardening ~ FlowerLady
Beautiful! I love redbuds. Ours aren't blooming yet, but it shouldn't be long now.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sensational tree - the colour is just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI love the sight of redbuds flowering. They're such beautiful trees, even when their growth is a little lopsided. Mine isn't flowering yet, but I'm hoping it will be soon.
ReplyDeleteA gorgeous redbud of which you made superb pictures!
ReplyDeleteYou have so many beautiful flowering trees! The bees in your yard must be in bee heaven.
ReplyDeleteIt's so great to see what a garden you have. I love the pink flowers of the shrub.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend sweetbay.
Love those flowering trees! Nothing says Spring like the sight of a Redbud in bloom!
ReplyDeleteYour Redbud is just so pretty. I planted a very small one last year and cannot wait until it grows big enough to bloom. The grow wild around here but they are not blooming yet. Such a wacky year. LOL! Have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteI adore redbuds and they are at the top of my list for new tree plantings when we figure out where we've moving. I've been admiring the white-flowering ones recently - just stunning. Spare me the weepers, though. Not my taste.
ReplyDeleteI am paying posts on trees extra attention this spring as I finally have a reason to consider adding a tree or two. I have always admired Redbuds. The tree we lost at the side had fruit that the birds loved, and it is a bit shaded, so I am not sure a Redbud is a great replacement, but it might do in the back corner where we lost 2 other trees.
ReplyDeleteSweetbay, your redbud sapling certainly turned into a fine tree! It has a perfect shape. I love redbuds. We have a lot of wild ones here, and I am always happy to see their sweet blooms in the spring.
ReplyDeleteI love crabapples. When I lived in NY I added 2 to the garden. Redbuds are in bloom here, too, and are always a welcome sight. How fabulous of Mother Nature to ring in sprig with so much vibrancy. :o)
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