Spring Greetings from Kitsap Forests

Spring Salutations and Fall Felicitations to all!

Trees in the Pacific Northwest are blooming, and in the cold forests of Kitsap County our deciduous trees are slowly awakening.

Wild willow hybrids (Salix) are early with fuzzy pussywillow flowers. Today you can smell hints of the balsam perfume of the Black cottonwood (Populus balsamifera spp. trichocarpa) drifting through on the breeze. Evergreen huckleberries (Vaccinium ovatum), an important year-round food source for birds and beasts of all kinds, have already begun to blossom.


Red alder (Alnus rubra) trees are among the first to wiggle open here in the spring warmth. The “red” of their appellation is best revealed in spring when the twigs, buds, and catkin flowers all blush with the rise of sap and the stir of March storms. Alders are a hearty pioneering species which help establish good growing conditions for other plant species in the forest.

We have a healthy stand of young alders (10+ years) which grew over the part of the property which was originally clear-cut. Today they are home to birds, frogs, mice, snakes, bunnies, bees, and plenty of other critters (and there’s an awesome blackberry thicket producing in the middle).

Spring days are patchworks of rain, cloud, wind, thunder, and sudden, bright sunbreaks. It’s the right time of year for rainbow watching, so if you see sun, rain, and black clouds in the early morning or late afternoon, I highly recommend that you step away from your desk, go outside, and search the sky for fleeting arcs of color.

Want more spring trees and flowers? Take a look at spring blossoms in eastern Pennsylvania from March 2006 and March 2007.

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REMINDER: The Festival of the Trees issue 46 is hosted at Vanessa’s Trees and Shrubs Blog on About.com.

Vanessa invites submissions of all kinds, and is especially interested in humorous trees in honor of April Fool's Day.

• Deadline for submissions is March 29th.
• Participation is easy: blog about trees, send us the link, spread the word!
• Email submissions to: treesandshrubs.guide [at] about [dot] com — or use the contact form at The Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

Blossoms on Pin Cherry Trees

The buds are just about to open on this pin cherry tree (Prunus pensylvanica) outside my kitchen.

Le Printemps est Arrivé!

Spring has definitely arrived, but I smell snow in the air this morning!

Walking Stick in the Garden

Corylus avellana 'Contorta', also known as "Harry Lauder's walking stick" or Corkscrew Hazel, from my friend's garden here at the farm. Picture taken March 9th (before I got sick). I'll try and give you an update soon to see what happens when the buds open!

Deep in the forests... of work!

Greetings!

While my files are still bursting with images to share with you at Arboreality, my attentions have been focused lately on one of two upcoming books for which I am providing some assistance.

We’ll get back on the tree track soon enough, but until then, please enjoy this lovely picture I took at the end of April.

Even if I don't have much to say, I'll still try to get some more images up this week. We have ferns coming up in the fields, and I just have to make some time to share those with you!

Star Magnolia Tree

Another beauty here at the farm is a young star magnolia tree, Magnolia stellata. I’ve never seen one before now, but I am already in love! It smells so sweet and heavenly, and I love its surprise – I thought this was some strange sort of pussy willow when the buds first began to swell. Today it is in full bloom, and most certainly a magnolia!

I first fell in love with magnolias as KAD’s birth tree is the saucer magnolia. Artist Gil Rondan has recently posted a beautiful image of a saucer magnolia in full bloom at his photography blog Native Eye. With all the warm weather around here, there are many more tree blossoms in our near future!

Happy Vernal Equinox!

Greetings everyone, and a happy spring to you! This morning I have snow flurries falling outside my window... but with the daffodils continuing to bloom, I know that springtime has truly arrived. Have a wonderful day!

PS - For all my southern-hemisphere Arborealists, a Happy Autumnal Equinox to you! Autumn is my favorite season, and I hope that you all enjoy yours! Whatever the season, today marks a great celestial turning point.