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.

* * *

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.

Of Rain and Bud Burst

Spring is in full-swing here in the Pacific Northwest, and we have enjoyed many fine days of rain. I thrive on the grey and the wet, and so do the evergreens.

A few days ago, I slipped out to catch a photo of the first dogwood tree which I have found thus far on my property. Everyone around seems to have big, happy dogwoods, and I was beginning to feel left out. These shy, slow-growing jewels hide quietly among their evergreen partners; then emerge with their unique, opalescent grace of big, buttery blossoms.

Meanwhile, I spotted the first emergence of fresh evergreen tips on the tallest Douglas firs, and their shorter companions are not far behind. The rain has every tree swelling; alders are transformed from sticks to thickets; ferns and mosses creep out from the woodwork; wheelbarrow traffic must pause for crossings of salamanders and frogs.

It’s easy to get lost gazing skyward, but the forest floor is rich with new growth: lichens, mosses, and shrubs of all kinds are ready for fruit and flower. Soon, I will be able to share the rhododendrons, salal, and huckleberries. Today, I conclude our images with the soft leaves of the foxglove, and the patient reawakening of the salmonberry.

Flowering and Blossoming Trees Edition: Festival of the Trees 35 Now Online at Orchards Forever

These days I spend more time in the forest and the garden than I do in my office. Fortunately, many other tree-lovers continue in the fine spirit of arborblogging, as featured each month at The Festival of the Trees.

This May, The Festival of the Trees 35 "Flowering and Blossoming Trees Edition" is hosted once again at Orchards Forever. Honoring the fruits and flowers of Beltane and the return of warm days in the northern hemisphere, our hostess Peg immerses us in the annual celebration of bud burst. She includes an image of a red flowering currant, compliments of the Brambleberries in the Rain blog. Thank you, blogging friends, for sharing one of my dearest, favorite plants in all her finery!

I join the celebration with today’s image of the emerging blossoms on my flowering cherry tree, planted in my garden some eight or nine years ago. All the trees are drinking up today’s luscious spring rain, compliments of the Pacific Northwest.

What’s that? You want MORE tree blogging? You’ve got it: Here are the past few months’ Festivals of the Trees.

Festival of the Trees 32 hosted at treeblog

Festival of the Trees 33 hosted by Local Ecologist

Festival of the Trees 34 hosted by Seabrooke Leckie at The Marvelous in Nature

Remember, submissions and hosts for The Festival of the Trees are always welcome and encouraged. To learn more about The Festival of the Trees, visit the coordinating blog (and sign up for the FOTT newsfeed for email reminders).

Joyous Spring!

Spring Lilacs

Spring is gaining momentum, and there is much to share from the forest. While I sort through my photos, please enjoy this glimpse at the emerging lilac which I planted so many moons ago.

Personal Encounters with the Pacific Rhododendron

Every chance I find, I wander into my backyard woods in Kitsap to reconnect with my many floral friends. The Pacific Rhododendron (also known as the Coast or Coastal Rhododendron) is one of my favorites.

Wild rhododendrons have many moods. In the spring Pacific Rhododendrons cautiously extend new leaves and fresh flowers, blossoming in May or June. The brightness of clear-cuts keep rhododendrons squat and bushy, but in the shade of the forest they reach long, elegant arms in search of light.

The late heat of the summer will cause the lowest leaves to droop and yellow in time for autumn rains. Finally, a steady, cold winter freeze will motivate the rhodies to pull their leaves low to the trunk as the snow slides off.

I struggled to choose which images to share today, and finally settled for three of the more personal, close encounters I captured on a recent walk. Here you see fresh, young leaves not yet dark and leathery, as well as the final throws of spring blossoms hiding under the shade of Red Cedars and Western Hemlocks.

Arboreality will be featuring more from the evergreen forests in coming months. We're going to take a meditative tack for a while.

Emergence Among the Trees

The forests are still sleeping in Eastern Pennsylvania, but these photos from Ridley Creek State Park last month show the quiet emergence of ferns and other flora. I couldn't resist sharing photos of Snowdrops and Winter Aconite from my own garden taken earlier in March. Coming up at Arboreality: the first signs of swelling tree buds.

Festival of the Trees 21 Orchards and Fruits Edition Now Online at Orchards Forever

This month’s Festival of the Trees 21 is a special fruit and orchard edition hosted by Peg at Orchards Forever. You’ll be sure to enjoy this delicious selection of unique and tasty blog posts. Peg’s thoughtful edition of the Festival of the Trees is well worth the read. Fortunately for us, today’s Festival begins on a Sunday. Enjoy a lazy stroll through the orchards!

To volunteer to host a future festival, and to submit blog posts to future festivals, visit the Festival of the Trees coordinating blog.

Warm Winter Sunset

Yesterday’s unseasonably warm sunrise was matched by the evening's delicious, colorful sunset. I’m not sure if it was the stormy weather, the eclipse, or my mood, but at yesterday's sunset the sky was positively glowing! My camera does not remotely do justice to the golden pink of the clouds and deep blue of the sky.

Blog Update: Arboreality is now listed at the Nature Blog Network. Be sure to check it out for listings of other great nature blogs!

Warm Winter Sunrise

It’s a warm, humid morning in Philadelphia (60 degrees Fahrenheit and rising). I’ve only been in Chester County, Pennsylvania for three winters, but each one has included some strange, unseasonably warm days often sandwiched between freezing days and big snows. Today the prediction is for rain and possibly thunder; by the speed of those low, lavender clouds – I suspect that we’re in for a wild new moon (accompanied by an equally electric solar eclipse). Time to plant!

Winter Tree Planting Ideas

I realize we’re well past the winter solstice and holiday season, but many of you are still looking for information about tree planting for your live Christmas trees. Here in Eastern Pennsylvania, I still haven’t planted a tree for the season – the weather, soil, and timing just haven’t been right this year, so I’ll need to wait for the spring thaw. (Tomorrow is Groundhog Day in the US, so we’ll see what Punxsutawney Phil has to say about it!)

Live Christmas trees are an excellent way to celebrate the return of a new year. You can keep them indoors for 7-10 days, and then plant them as soon as the ground is ready (soft enough to dig). If you’re going to bring the tree indoors be sure to keep it cool and moist (but not soggy); watering with ice cubes works well. Take the tree back outside as soon as possible.

If it’s not the right time to plant your tree, just keep it somewhere outside where it gets a little light, but is protected from the wind. Protect the root ball by packing leaves or old hay bales around the base of the tree. (Placing the tree on the leeward side of the house helps too).

When you plant your tree, be sure to prepare the soil wider and deeper than the rootball will reach. Mix in compost to lighten and nurture the soil, and plant your tree just a little high in the hole so that as it settles, it doesn’t sink into the earth. (And remember: NO MULCH VOLCANOS).

The first year of your new tree’s life is critical: be sure to keep your tree regularly watered (but not waterlogged) through the dry months. Your young tree needs to establish a new root system before it can withstand drought on its own.

Fertilize and mulch your tree in the autumn when the water requirements are not as intense and your tree is focused on root development. This will help it grow strong healthy buds for the next spring, and remind you for another year of the return of the sun and warm season after the long, cold winter.

For other ideas about Christmas trees, check out my earlier articles:

Planting Live Christmas Trees for the Winter Solstice

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas (Garden Rant)

Deck the Trees with Strings of Berries

Morning Mulberry Trees

Some of you long-time Arborealists may recall the “mulberry mysteries” of last year.

To summarize for our new readers, during my first year in southeastern Pennsylvania I have learned that there are at least four varieties of mulberry trees growing domestically and semi-wild throughout the surrounding area. Furthermore, it is entirely possible that there are unique cultivars from cross-pollination, and that these varieties may be indistinguishable from common species (at least at first glance).

The four varieties I’ve read about include Red mulberry (Morus rubra), White mulberry (Morus alba), Black mulberry (Morus nigra), and Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera). They each have some distinguishing characteristics, but overall I have had limited success with telling them apart. According to The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region; Elbert L. Little, there are roughly 1400 species in the mulberry family (Moraceae) world-wide; in Eastern North America we can find five native and three naturalized species.

I can see common attributes among certain mulberries, so I know there are a few distinct varieties here at the farm. Characteristics include growth habit, over-all shape, leaf shape and texture, and preferred growing location. Still, there’s nothing definitive for me to point to which makes me confident with identification (not yet, that is).

Today’s images are of a particular species which is common around the farm (this one grows just outside the cottage, so I see it each morning). I believe this variety to be either the Black or the White mulberry.

If you have an opinion on this mulberry’s identity, or tips and tricks from your experience with identifying mulberries in your neighborhood, please do share! In the mean time, I will continue with the mulberry mystery chronicles. Sooner or later, we will find an answer.

Side note: the mulberry family Moraceae also includes the Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera).

The Land of the Fae

(This is definitely a picture you want to click to enlarge.)

More from the Washington Woods

I’m not certain of the identity of the plant in the foreground… but it certainly is lovely! If you have any suggestions, do let us know. Despite its appearance in this image, it is not a rhododendron. Those leaves are soft, not waxy and rigid. (Some suggestions include cascara, but the jury’s still out on that one.)

Blossoms on Pin Cherry Trees

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

I Love Dandelions!

I grow dandelions in my gardens, with my vegetables and flowers, and in my cold frame. I don't care what you call them, I think they're beautiful (and delicious)!

Northeaster Paints the Forests White

Yesterday brought us one hell of a storm in Philadelphia which continues to bellow this afternoon with wind, thunder, and lightning. Classified as a Northeaster (or “Nor’easter” as they say), this storm brings cold air from the northeast, and is a typical winter system in these parts. Power outages have been persistent. The rain has been awesome!

Our spring Nor’easter managed to paint the world white overnight, and saturate the earth with the waters that make this area one of the most fertile, non-irrigated farming regions in the world. This morning all the fields are covered in about 3-5 inches of free standing snow, water, and ice. When we pulled an aluminum stake out of the ground, the soil actually made a pop-sucking sound, and water flowed out!

As you can see in some of these images, the reason that the trunks shine so white is because anything with a surface was painted white from the direction of the prevailing wind. Here at the farm, that appears to be West-Northwest. (I believe this is the result of the rotation of this weather system). Don't you just love the blush of red blossoms and green sprouts on the tree branches and rose canes?

Considering what the rain, snow, and ice did to my daily trail (what looks like a river in the above image), I can only imagine what some of the flooding is like around the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Today everything is wet, squishy, and cold, and absolutely beautiful. I’m glad we got to see one more snow – Pennsylvania is absolutely at her best when dressed in snow.

For those of you who have lived in both evergreen and deciduous forests, have you noticed how the hardwoods' voices have a deeper, lower rumble in the wind (especially in winter), while the softwoods' voices have more clatter and roar in the windstorms? Tropical forests have different voices too - it's a wider, longer sound with an echo to it (if that makes any sense whatsoever).

Scilla Shows Signs of Spring

Scilla flowers (Scilla siberica), brought to my gardens from Europe by the owner’s mother many years ago.

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!

Alive and Kicking

I’m not dead, but if you’d asked me a few days ago I might have said yes. My apologies for my two-week absence: I’ve been sick!

In other news, spring is awakening around the farm, and there is so much to show you! I’m sowing seeds and watching the first flowers awaken, including Winter aconite, daffodils, and croci. (Guess what I discovered when I looked back at last year's entries for those links? I was sick at almost the exact same time last year!) As soon as I get out with my camera, I'll have pictures for you.

And to toot my horn a little, I had a photograph published in Pennsylvania Pursuits Magazine. It’s one of my images of the mulberry trees from around the farm. If you subscribe, flip to the end of the magazine to find my image with a silk worm article.

There is more ahead. Thank you all for your patience, kindness, and support, and HAPPY SPRING!

PS – So tell me, how fast does the Arboreality header image load for you? If it’s not showing up, please let me know so I can find another image hosting service!