Happy Mother’s Day 2018

Star Magnolia

Daffodil

Red Trillium

Wild Serviceberry (Amelanchier, Juneberry, Shadbush)

Wild Serviceberry in full bloom

Photos by NB Hunter (May, 2018). © All Rights Reserved.

Wildflower Favorites

Early spring wildflowers, the spring ephemerals, are vivid reminders of the fragile beauty and existence of life on earth. They tease and please with spectacular, short-lived blooms. They always leave us wanting more, and we’re quite willing to wait another year for another show. It never gets old.

Serviceberry (Amelanchier), a small flowering tree

Marsh Marigold in the wet soil along a small stream

White Trillium, a woodland wildflower favoring rich, moist soils (1 of 2)

Red Trillium in filtered light on a rich woodland site

Photos by NB Hunter. © All Rights Reserved.

Early May Highlights, 2016

I’ve captured a sample of early May in Central New York, often dodging rain drops in the process. My mother had more than a passing interest in nature and would have loved this post.

She liked flowers, cultivated or wild, didn’t much matter.

Fading glory: Red Trillium in a moist ravine, past peak bloom

Willow (one of many species of wild willow shrubs)

Wild Juneberry (also Serviceberry, Amelanchier or Shadbush)

She kept a bird feeder and enjoyed her backyard visitors. Early May was peak migration and full of surprises.

Goldfinch perched near a Nyjer seed feeder

Of course everyone loves babies. These family photos would have been plastered all over the wall (and the real family photos pushed aside)!

Family of Canadian Geese (there were 8 goslings in all, just a few days old)

Bald Eagle, tearing small pieces from a kill to feed her 3 youngsters

Raising young is a team effort: parent #2 arrives with a duck in its grasp (determined from another image in the sequence)!

Happy Mother’s Day

Photos by NB Hunter. © All Rights Reserved.

 

Early Autumn Foliage

Sweeping panoramic views of fall foliage with peak colors are a week or two away. However, many plants, species and varieties within species, are ahead of the curve. Red Maple, some Sugar Maples, White Ash, dogwoods and serviceberries are in this group.

Sugar Maple

Red-panicle Dogwood

Red Maple

Red Maple

White Ash

Serviceberry

Photos by NB Hunter. © All Rights Reserved.

 

Small, Flowering Trees in the Landscape: Serviceberry

Small trees with showy flowers are a special part of the spring landscape, treasured by naturalists, backyard enthusiasts and landscape professionals alike. Native species like Eastern Redbud (Cercis), Flowering Dogwood (Cornus) and Serviceberry (Amelanchier; Juneberry, Shadbush) are popular, early bloomers, as are the exotic Star and Saucer Magnolias (Magnolia). My focus in this post is the native plants, specifically  Serviceberry.

Flowering Dogwood

Until recently, this locale was classified as Hardiness Zone 4 (minimum winter temperature reaching minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit). At these temperatures, the flower buds of Flowering Dogwood and Redbud freeze, but Serviceberry is unaffected. For a period of a week or so in late April or early May woodlands and forest edges are dotted with blooming Serviceberries, their vivid white flowers contrasting sharply with the brown, gray and pale green colors of the spring landscape.

There are many species and cultivars of Serviceberry, including shrubby and small tree forms, and they’re not always easy to distinguish. The species that I’ve photographed is a small, native tree that I find very appealing.

Serviceberry tree in full bloom in early May; this tree is fairly old and has reached a maximum size of about 8 inches in diameter and 25 feet in height

Serviceberry in full bloom (4):

The fact that Serviceberry thrives in this area and yields a delicious, blueberry-like fruit has led me to consider purchasing plants for my garden.  A cultivar of Saskatoon Serviceberry, grown for commercial fruit production in Canada and elsewhere, has been recommended. I plan to follow up on this, knowing that the Robins, Cedar Waxwings and other songbirds will likely beat me to the crop.

All photos by NB Hunter