The Sound of a Tree Falling in my Backyard

Yesterday's post paraphrased part of Garrison Keillor's famous Lake Wobegon phrase, substituting Michigan trees for "where all the women are strong." I was just finishing the post when I suddenly heard a familiar sound--cracking, crashing, thudding. This time the ground did not shake, as it did when a giant old weeping willow crashed (picture with child) in the early 90's and missed our house by inches (damaged the gutter) a few years after we moved in. This time is was our backyard neighbor's rotten old box elder tree and he may be responsible if insurance will cover it because it damaged his fence. I am not sure of the rules that apply here yet. Also, it did decapitate the top of one of our pine trees but that tree had not been doing so well, anyway. I will have to clean up my junk pile which I try to hide behind the tree (fallen sticks, rain barrels, wheel barrows, pots). Lesson learned: Be careful to not brag too much about Michigan trees or one will shortly fall down in your yard.

Conifer Cones - Spring Growth on a Korean Fir Tree

The new growth on conifers (cone-bearing evergreens) is one of the bonuses of spring that I enjoy here in West Michigan, where all the trees are strong and the conifers are good looking. The variety of contrasting greens that are sprouting now are part of what gives that fresh newness to the world at this time of the year. The beauty of spring is sometimes fleeting; for example, a few hot days and a rain can turn pink magnolia petals into a mushy brown pile at the base of the tree. But these bright greens (bright blues of the spruce, too) that we see only in spring, set against the bold red and yellow tulips and the pinks of the crabs and the redbuds, are all together making quite a scene this week. Some of the new growth on conifers can be considered to be their flowering. There are male and female "flowers"--but I don't pretend to understand conifer sex or know which growths are which! I do know that they can produce a varying amount of cones from year to year, sometimes producing a plethora of cones when they are under stress in a dry year, perhaps working harder to propagate, "hedging" their bets on survival!

I took pictures last week of one very interesting specimen (a Korean fir - Abies koreana, to the best of my knowledge), found on the bank of a small waterfall pond overlooking a larger pond on my aunt's property. It is probably not "stressed" (although I did string a strangling strand of Christmas lights around it last November), but it seems to me to have produced an abundance of what I thought at first glance were conifer candles. This new growth on many conifers can be pinched back to control height and encourage branching. However, the pictures I have of candle-like growth are actually the developing cones which later turn a bluish-purple, a very desirable feature for the tree lover who looks for the unusual. It has budding new growth as well, but those buds are not the stars of these photos.

In the background to the left behind the pond are river birch and to the right are fairly young dawn redwoods, (Metasequoia) which happen to be  deciduous conifers, with a large developing patch of butterbur (Petasites) underneath.

These photos are cropped slightly and enhanced only by upping the contrast a bit for a more dramatic appearance. This small (dwarf?) conifer is stunning and has lots of stuff going on this spring. I think it deserves a post of its own here. I don't know all the technical names for what is happening with these new spring sprouts, but the pictures hopefully will tell the story well enough.

Do I have your attention yet with this stunning display? It reminds me of candles on a birthday cake, or perhaps a choir standing to sing. But it is just this fir's bold and celebrative declaration of a start of a new year of possibilities for growth and  propagation. At the tips of the branches you can see the actual buds, looking somewhat like the pupal stage of an insect.

Here is another branch with a different kind of growth which I am at a loss to explain. They crumble when touched so perhaps contain pollen--male parts?

This one is just too cute for words:

The Tree Top:

One more shot of the top.

Notice the brown remains from last year:

The Whole Tree:

Tulips and Daffodils

This tulip has been developing its bulb from deep down in my front lawn for the 18 + years we have lived here. Last year the bud was lopped off and this is the first year I have ever seen a bloom. It looks ridiculous, an oddball in the middle of the lawn. I will probably dig it up this year after the foliage dies back. I would never have planted this color in front of my magenta-trimmed house.

Here are a few more oddballs. This is the birch that the bunny uses for a nest. No sign of babies this year, but I have sprayed the area two or three times.

Some beauties from my tulip patch:

And now a few beauties from my Aunt's yard. These gorgeous tulips are a stand-out, framed against the fresh cut chips. I added time-released Osmocote fertilizer first, in case you were wondering--before spreading the new chips which can rob nitrogen from the soil--in this mum and sweet woodruff plot:

Below is a Mondial tulip--at the base of a large weeping cherry. The description of this tulip from Holland Bulb Farms is a bit flowery for my tastes. This is what their ad says: "A delicate white tulip awakens and reaches its feathery petals up to the sky. A soft hint of fragrance floats through the air as the early morning sun gives the flower its warmth. That flower is the 'Mondial' Double Tulip, a brilliant white early tulip that Holland Bulb Farms is pleased to present to you. Allow this tulip to grace your garden in early spring and you'll never regret it!"

This one independent daffodil is the only one blooming in a graveyard of hundreds of spent blooms. This is the kind of serendipity a plant lover looks for while walking through the garden--you just never know what you are going to see, even in a patch of dead flower heads.

The daffodils below were found one spring, forgotten and dried out in my aunt's garage. I thought, why not--just stick them in somewhere and see if they will grow. Now, in a rather cold spot behind a rock, they pop up every year. This year their heads were nodding down behind the rock and they could easily have been overlooked. I got down on the ground behind the rock to get this shot! In a yard with about 1000 daffodils now pretty much petering out, I thought these little blooms warranted some attention. I may have their name written down somewhere, but I don't really care. I just like it that they faithfully continue to produce these blooms each April.

More Blooms - at Church

I planted this patch of pansies last October at church and they have come back in full glory this spring. I have always loved pansies with their cheerful little faces and variety of bright colors.

Also blooming at church is a redbud tree. Notice how the blossoms emerge right out of the trunk as well as in the canopy. A few early leaves and some lingering pods add to the spring drama of this very popular tree.

About to explode into bloom is this 'Coral Burst' Crabapple:

Check back next week to see this crab in full bloom and perhaps that dwarf  lilac in a pot by the rock bench will be in bloom. I spend one or two hours on each of the two potted dwarf lilacs every spring after they bloom, trimming off all the dead heads and trying to maintain the "lollipop" shape that Frank (who pays for every blooming thing in this garden) desires. Anyway, I do take some credit for the full blooms on the lilacs, which are looking promising again this year.

Some April Flowers in my Yard

Kaufmanniana Tulip 'Heart's Delight'

Primula - Primrose

Hyacinth in Ivy Bed

Brunnera macrophylla and "stolen" ferns

 Tulipa

Dicentra spectabilis

Who does not love a bleeding heart? I have around 10 in my shady yard that have re-seeded here and there over the years. I have one white fringed bleeding heart and have tried some others, but this old standard is the only one that has thrived. These happy little blooms continue to delight me every spring. Soon to join them are the blue re-seeding forget-me-nots that were given to me by a friend on my 50th birthday. The Brunnera or Siberian bugloss blooms above look a lot like forget-me-nots but are not.

The very early Kaufmanniana tulips that I planted in the heart-shaped plot between my neighbor Lynn's yard and mine--half a heart in each yard--have "naturalized" somewhat in their third year of bloom. I will take a picture from my roof sometime (the shape is more visible) when all the plants are up and we have re-edged and mulched the plot. (I said I would not climb around on my roof any more after I turned 60 but who else can I trust up there? I always make sure someone is home when I am up there so that if I fall off they can pick up the pieces right away).

Lynn installed the pinkish striped rock and it sat alone for years until I planted "Heart's Delight" on either side of it. These tulips are notable for their short height, striped leaves and early water lily-like blooms. I read that they are native to Turkestan and I know that Kaufmanniana are available in other colors. They dropped their petals already last week, before the other tulips had begun to open. Last year I transplanted three "Dicentra spectabilis" behind the rock and they are still developing. It only seemed right to put "Heart's Delight" and Bleeding Hearts in a heart-shaped space!

Spring Flowers - Up Close and Personal

Some Spring Flowers in Bloom at my Aunt's House:

Mertensia virginica - Virginia Bluebells

Dicentra spectabilis - Bleeding Heart`

Bleeding Hearts - Through the Looking Glass

Paeonia & Pulmonaria - Peony & Lungwort

Red Maple, Magnolia & Weeping Cherry

Flowering Almond & Brunnera macrophylla (Siberian bugloss)

Cornus - Flowering Dogwood

Amelanchier - Serviceberry