Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Those Bloomin' Trees!

Today's Wonder of the World is...Flowering Trees!

Aren't you glad that some trees flower? All the flowering trees are abloom in my corner of South Carolina and it's just lovely.


While Sam and Tanner were out enjoying the sun this weekend, I started thinking about those pretty bloomers. I reached back in the dark recesses of my brain, way, way back behind my pita bread recipe where I keep my notes from Botony 101, and asked myself questions like
Why do some trees flower and others don't?
What is a flower for anyway?

Oh yeah! I remember! A flower is just a plant's reproductive organ.
How nice of nature to make its privates so pretty!

I think I'll stop there. I can see that you're already blushing and so am I.
I'll choose instead to just enjoy the flowering trees in my backyard and let someone else tell you 'bout the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and the moon up above and a thing called love.

Hey look! There's something to distract us from this awkward moment!

It's the blooming Bradford Pear in my backyard, the one that's got a sled underneath it, even though I've told my boys goodness knows how many times to put that thing away!
(They blame it on Tanner the Slobber Dog but I think they're just lazy.)

See, Tanner doesn't care about that sled. He's a connoisseur of blooming branches.

Or maybe he's sniffing out a squirrel.

We've got a beautiful redbud in full bloom right across the street, but I'm such a rotten photographer that I'm going to rely on Peter Michel's flickr picture below to show you what it looks like.

Flickr photo by Peter Michel
Gorgeous redbud, Peter!
They should really change that tree's name to purplebud. Don't you think so?

Whenever I think about blooming trees, I can't help but travel back in time to our French life. Won't you sit with me and Sarah under our cherry tree?

Just wait...when birds land on the branches it looks like a snowstorm!

Speaking of French branches...
Not to turn this blog into a van Gogh love fest, but I'm in love with the painting he did in Saint Remy of a blooming almond tree.

That just takes my breath away.

I bet Tanner would like it too. Especially if it smelled like squirrel.

Have a wonder-full Wednesday, y'all!
Enjoy this time lapse video of blooming cherry trees!
Love, Becky

28 comments:

judy in ky said...

Beautiful topic. To me, blooming trees are one of the wonders of the world. And I like Tanner's smile, too.

Susan said...

I love flowering trees such as these, as long as they are in someone else's yard. I dislike things that fall from trees onto my car, and areas making me to have to sweep. I will live vicariously through you and your trees. Seriously though, the Bradford pear trees are beautiful in our neck of the woods. I need to keep my camera in my car. Take care and enjoy those bloomers.

Anonymous said...

I'm anxious for our crabapple trees to bloom--even more so after your post. We don't have good luck with magnolias here, something I envy about the southern climes.

a Tonggu Momma said...

ah... ah... ah-CHOO!!!!!

lotusgirl said...

I go nuts for all those flowering trees. As you would suspect, I love taking pictures of them. I'll have to do a post on that soon and relate it to writing somehow.

I especially love the redbuds, and I have often wondered about the red/purple thing. I guess the buds are kind of red. When we were in Chattanooga, we lived on one of the mountains. There were redbuds all along the road up the mountain. It never ceased to amaze me when I would take that drive. It was like time lapse photography the whole way. At the top of the mountain there would be buds that would appear to bloom as you went. By the time you got to the bottom the blooms were fully open. On the trip back up you got the reverse show. I LOVED that. It lasted for several weeks.

LW said...

It will be a month or more before I see any blooms here, but I so do look forward to the beauty of spring…

Thank you for the sneak preview…

Louise

Ronnie said...

Beautiful! Seems our sons have the same yard littering disease. And seeing Tanner makes me miss our good old dog. He smiled his last smile this time last Spring and the lily Joe planted on him is beginning to sprout this week.

Rosemary said...

So pretty, and yet it's making me sneeze. I will be working out in my yard today.
Love all of the springy photos!
Rosemary

Wendy Paine Miller said...

I love your posts! I also eagerly await the leaves on the trees this time of year. Thank you for your inspiration. I am still thinking about your post on clouds from days ago!

Adrienne said...

Gorgeous video.
All those blooming things make my throat itch, but I love them anyway. :)

Kat said...

Beautiful post! I just love the pooch "smelling" the flowering tree. So cute!

We have a flowering crab apple tree in our backyard. SO pretty!

Suzie said...

Great shots

marie-louise said...

Wow, it looks lovely with all these blooming trees!

Linda Summerfield said...

I'm packing the car and heading south!!!!

David Ebright said...

Hmmmm.... Had a plum tree & cherry tree at the house in Pennsylvania. The birds loved 'em. I cut them down. ('Cause the birds loved 'em.)

That ended my problem with polka dotted siding. Stupid dive-bombing birds.

May Vanderbilt said...

I'll trade you my kitchen counter tops and dining room table for your backyard! (Fingers crossed, finger crossed.)

My father is obsessed with crape myrtles because of their blooms.

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Hey folks!
Yes, the only problem is the pollen--Greenville is one of the worst areas in the country for allergies. And if it's a fruit tree, you get fruit and seeds to deal with, but that can be good too. There were more cherries from our tree in France than we could eat, so we'd invite our neighbors and friends over to pick. Cherry clafoutis--talk about heaven!

Lotusgirl, I love the idea of a time lapse mountain! I used to experience the same thing when we'd go visit family in Kentucky from North Carolina. They were always a few weeks ahead in the changing of the leaves in the fall and it was always fun to see the change from south to north.

Linda and the rest of you, come on down!

Ronnie, I'm sorry about your dog. He is a sweetie, in spite of his penchant for eating everything we own. And that last pic of him in front of the forsythia, he's sitting right in front of where we buried our dear Katie the cat. We planted catnip there, but it's gone now.

Jaxpop, polka dotted siding? Yeah, I see why you'd cut down the trees I guess. Yuck.

Susan Tuttle said...

Gorgeous blossoms! -- you give me spring fever!

Jojo said...

I wish I could have read your post but my eyes were blurred with allergies from the pollen! Just kidding...loving spring!!!

CC said...

Lovely post! I love flowering trees and we are just, just starting to get them around here! Next month is the peak for us. :)

Anonymous said...

I LOVE TANNER. I LOVE POSTS FEATURING TANNER.

- Tanner Fan
(the same who once requested a Tanner post and you obliged real quick)

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Tanner, is that you?
Have you learned to type with your doggy paws and you just want to lure me out with my camera, away from the computer?

No, no more treats. The vet put you on a diet, remember?

Felicity said...

Lovely, lovely, lovely!

Kelly H-Y said...

Oh, the first part of your post made me laugh out loud ... with only a small amount of blushing! :-) Too funny! That redbud is GORGEOUS ... the color is so vivid!

Anonymous said...

You are funny Rebecca.

- Tanner Fan

Unknown said...

I love bloomin' trees! LOL! Around here in So Cal there is an absolutely beautiful blossom tree called the Jacaranda Tree! It has the most amazing purple blossoms that I find breathtaking and not because of allergies, either, LOL!

Renee said...

Becky you have such a wonderful family.

I love your blog. I don't know where you get all these wonders that never cease to amaze.

Re the pictures making your head spin: rock round baby rock round like a ......

Gwen Buchanan said...

such a happy post.. you have the most fantastic blog.. How do you ever find the time to do such in depth posts? love it!!