Urban Trees
Whether it’s the spellbinding charm of magnolias or cherry blossoms in spring, the intoxicating fragrance of honey locusts and lindens at the beginning of summer, the fiery blaze of red maples and yellow acacias in the fall, or the delightful red, black and purple berries of crabapples and Japanese mountain ashes against the background of snow, trees add a delightful layer of color and fragrance to the landscape, besides lending it scale and structure.
Front yard trees are small, delicate and vibrant, somewhat larger versions of the color and fragrance display that is the flower border.
Graceful willows that billow like gossamer in the breeze, the tiniest weeping cherry, weighed down by its heavy pink blossoms, tall arborvitae straight as arrows pointing to the sky, Oregon grapes covered in yellow flower clusters at the end of February, pink-purple redbuds that look like watercolor in the humid air of early spring, cute little ginkgo trees whose fan-shaped leaves turn strident yellow in the fall, intoxicating lilacs featuring every shade of lavender and purple, catalpa trees with giant fragrant flower clusters and large pods straight out of a fairytale, trees dazzle and enchant both human and non-human life in equal measure.
They provide food and shelter to countless birds and critters and are always swarmed by bees.
One last thing, when you walk down a street slowly coming back to life in spring and the breeze carries a heavenly fragrance, or when you delight in the spicy green scent of a hot summer afternoon, you can be fairly sure that scent comes from a tree.
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