Friday, December 28, 2007

defying winter

I was in the back garden today, trudging through the sad leftovers of another slushfall, when I spotted this little fellow poking his head out:

Meanwhile, check out what's happening in the front yard. Twice a year this tree blooms: once after all the leaves are gone (December) and again just before the leaves start growing again (March). I was told that it's a viburnum but I don't know for sure. Can anyone identify it?

15 Comments:

Blogger Rachel Schell said...

how interesting! a tree that blooms in the winter. strange...

28/12/07 4:26 p.m.  
Blogger Philip said...

Isn't nature just magical?

29/12/07 12:25 a.m.  
Blogger CS said...

No idea, but its a beatiful color on those buds. You have to love the persistance of nature.

29/12/07 4:57 a.m.  
Blogger Heather said...

Is it a bushy tree (multi branched from bottom) or a tree-tree (One trunk or maybe two up from the bottom)? If it's a bushy typw tree, then vibernuim. If it's a single trunk type tree, then Quince. They both flower in that pattern,(clusters) but Vibernum....has berries after the bloom. (Usually bright red, withe and sometimes blue (colored)berries) Flowering quince does not have berries after the flowering.
Also...for better ID, when it has leaves are they long and wide in the middle with raised or bumby veins (thick leaves) or more like a regular lite tree leaf. Vibernum is a thick leaf plant (that can be grown into a tree with proper pruning) and quince is more like an aspen shaped leaf (pointy at the end and wide at the top, and thin like a maple leaf).
Hope that helps.

Love the little mushroom...love, love, love!
Have a happy New Year to you and yours. (if you send me a picture of the whole tree I could ID it better, retired landscape designer here at your service.) *Grins a mile wide*

29/12/07 5:12 a.m.  
Blogger andrea said...

Rachel: I love it -- it's like this sign of hope during the darkest days of winter.

Philip: a never-ending source of magic, too.

CS: The colour seems particularly intense this year.

Heather: You are just what the doctor ordered! I will email you separately.

29/12/07 7:19 a.m.  
Blogger dinahmow said...

Heather's onto it!

29/12/07 12:26 p.m.  
Blogger Alda said...

What gorgeous photos! I have no idea what the buds are, but I'm in awe of what is in your garden.

29/12/07 1:49 p.m.  
Blogger Romeo Morningwood said...

Isn't it a little early for Magic Mushrooms?
We are having a ldfn'd Holiday Week check this out...
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/CAMB0244

29/12/07 10:38 p.m.  
Blogger Zig said...

do you fry them or bake them?

30/12/07 9:56 a.m.  
Blogger andrea said...

Dinah: And with amazing helpfulness, too! I have discovered that it's a viburnum called "Dawn".

Alda: If you saw the piles of dead branches and leaves that were formed during autumn clean-up but still not dealt with, you might change your tune! :)

HE: Oh, you hardy prairie folk. But I envy you your sunny days, too.

Ziggi: What do you suggest, oh queen of all things culinary? :)

30/12/07 10:14 a.m.  
Blogger andrea said...

Dinah: And with amazing helpfulness, too! I have discovered that it's a viburnum called "Dawn".

Alda: If you saw the piles of dead branches and leaves that were formed during autumn clean-up but still not dealt with, you might change your tune! :)

HE: Oh, you hardy prairie folk. But I envy you your sunny days, too.

Ziggi: What do you suggest, oh queen of all things culinary? :)

30/12/07 10:14 a.m.  
Blogger Cynthia said...

I know it's not, but it looks like you're on the cusp of spring...I'm glad to hear you've ID'd the tree - and at any rate, I wouldn't have been much help.

I'm always in awe, that nature keeps a schedule.

31/12/07 7:40 a.m.  
Blogger WithinWithout said...

Ba-da-boom for that shroom!

31/12/07 12:37 p.m.  
Blogger daisies said...

how absolutely beautiful ... sigh ... no sign of growth or bloom of any sort over here, only the snow and ice variety, tee hee ...

31/12/07 12:55 p.m.  
Blogger Merisi said...

Dearest Andrea,
this post is all about amazing stuff! I looooove the mushroom, what enery, what perseverance, to literally burn itself through ice and snow! I cannot remember ever seeing a mushroom succeeding under such trying circumstances. The Vibernum bloossoms touched me also: On January 1st, I walked down the Strudlhof Steps and spotted the same kind of blossoms. I photographed them, but my picture didn't come out too well: It was too dark already, and my little camera refused to focus properly. It was a wonderous moment all the same. I took it as nature's promise that spring will return.
Then please let me say this to you: You ought to be proud of yourself, of your accomplishments and survived battles. Love thyself. Lots! :-)

3/1/08 6:47 a.m.  

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