Green Enchantment

I ’m in the house browsing through seed catalogs and thinking about my garden to come. I still don’t have the motivation to be out in the rain and cold temps to prep the tiny yard. And I have not heard about a plot in the community garden.  Having just celebrated George Washington’s Birthday this past week, my internet searches took me from crafts for the grand kids to cherry recipes. We ended up making 3-cornered hats and making little cherry turnovers, thinking of Washington and the “cannot tell a lie” story. As I was searching the internet, I came across the beginnings of the cherry. Bing, perhaps the most famous and highly regarded sweet cherry in the world, had its origin in Oregon. Who knew! A pioneer nurseryman named Henderson Luelling came across country with his wife, 8 children and over 700 fruit tree sprouts in a covered wagon. After setting up a nursery in Milwaukie, Oregon, his brother came out west, in 1847, to help him. Seth Luelling created a sweet cherry cultivar ...

As I glanced at the ‘tiny yard’ this morning, it looked so bleak. Even with small sprouts from the bulbs starting to grow in the ground, everything looks so empty and exposed. I can only contemplate what the summer will bring…color, freshness, warmth and cheer.  A walk around the neighborhood on a rare sunny afternoon is invigorating. But, the frosty cold season is still upon us.  I took a good look at our Paperbark Maple tree this week. The peeling copper-orange bark will continue this unusual papery appearance for the rest of its life. Acer griseum is the only maple species with this type of peeling bark. The dark green leaves will come for the summer and then turn a bright fall color. This nice,  small landscape tree adds interest to the tiny front yard. For now, wintertide continues and I stay snuggled under my throw, reading, waiting for seeds to germinate, sprout, bud and grow!