The Hawthorns are blooming. We have always called them Thornapples...the wood is good for flower stems if you are a woodcarver.
Can you see the thorn? The tree/shrub will get red tiny itsy bitsy apples come Fall and the birds will eat them.
It should be a good year for Chokecherries. Last summer we cleared out many branches that had fire blight (poop on a stick) and that really helped with the growth. My baby brother, his bride and I worked really hard at clearing out the infected branches. If we just take care of new areas we should have a handle on it. If pollination goes well we will be busy picking and steaming chokecherries come the first week in August.
Each tiny flower will be a berry! The clusters will hang heavily from the branches first green then turning pink, red and a very deep red almost black and they are ready to pick.
Yesterday I mowed the entire yard, previously I mowed just the front yard. It was a busy day.
Far Side
Well done. I love the blossoms in spring. Who doesn't?!
ReplyDeleteThose thorns are wicked!! Not a fan. I didn't notice if/when our pokey trees were blooming. Poop on a stick, funny and accurate description.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite trees is the Hawthorne tree. I just love the shape of the leaves and the flowers they produce. Of course, I like the Locust tree too as it blossoms here on my birthday.
ReplyDeleteMy other favorite tree is a Linden!
We seem to have quite a few chokecherries or other cherries that blossomed alongside the road! I need to watch them!
Did you mow fast enough to avoid the MN Skeeters?
On the FB gardener's group I belong to, everyone has been remarking on the sheer volume of flowers on their chokecherries. It sure looks like it will be a good year for them. My mom always made chokecherry jelly - yummy. I've neither the patience nor the talent for doing the same so I'll keep an eye out at the farmer's market.
ReplyDeleteIt's so good to get back to yardwork (other than snow shovelling). And is there anything nicer than the smell of fresh mown grass? :)
Chokecherry jam - a memory from my childhood. Mom didn't make it, but one of her friends did and always shared. Yum!!
ReplyDeleteNo Hawthorne here. I do have currant bushes growing wild in the tree line. I forget to pick them and the massive amount of wild raspberries. They are a menace. Enjoy the cool day.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do see that *huge* thorn!! Ouch! ~Andrea xoxo
ReplyDeleteI just love how you describe things. Poop on a Stick!!! LOL! Those thorns are nasty wicked. I remember them from childhood. I am not a fan. I do miss mulberries and may look for a bush to plant. Although they may not be as good as I remember from childhood.
ReplyDeleteIn Washington we would hike up into the mountains and pick Huckleberries. Some years people would sell tiny pails of them for $100 or more! Those were the years when the bears would eat most of them and you would have to work really hard to find them.
Blessings,
Betsy
Beautiful blog
ReplyDeleteI love all of the names and expressions you have for your native plants.
ReplyDeleteIt must be exciting for you when things start to bloom with the promise if fruit.
Wild berries are something to loo forward to.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it might be a bumper crop of chokecherries!
ReplyDeletePoop on a stick--awk! LOL! :)
I always learn something new about your area when you write about the flora and fauna. Glad to hear you are going to have a chokecherry bonanza! :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you were very busy indeed.
ReplyDeleteHope there's a good chokecherry harvest.
That is a HUGE thorn!!!
ReplyDeleteLate frost here this spring and nothing blossomed but our strawberry plant. It was a tiny freebie last year and I think we have 3 berries. Farm Markets here we come.
ReplyDeleteI had fire bright on one of my trees at the old place. I am sure they cleared that tree out of there. My wife's first cousin loved her memories of the berries in Minnesota. Her dad was a fellow Minnesotan.
ReplyDeleteNice and prety
ReplyDeletePoop on a stick - I knew exactly what you were talking about! Grandpa Carl just said that there should be a good crop of berries here too. One of the nieces might come and do some picking as she did a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteSeems like it's full on summer now. Mosquitoes are out in force here. What do you do with chokecherries? Jam? You work really hard. I have all but given up on getting the gardens in shape.
ReplyDeleteI love it when the woods are in bloom!
ReplyDeleteThose thorns are wicked looking. You could use them as needles. Interesting about the chokecherries.
ReplyDeleteDawn I make jelly, I have a steamer that extracts the juice. I can freeze the juice for later or make it into jelly right away!
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