Gallery Images
“Over the years I’ve found this gem very difficult to photograph well. Tiny reddish pink blooms coat the stems of this native tree, which is equally at home in sun or shade. Down in the southern part of the east coast this is a wonderful understory tree in the forest, giving a pink cast to the woods for spring hikers. Megan Brakeley at the Knoll told me these blooms are edible (the tree is a legume), but I can’t bring myself to remove the beautiful flowers. Look for this one in front of Axinn, and more under some trees in Ridgeline and Munford.” (Credit: Paul Dahm )
“Not completely sure the cultivar (cultivated variety) of these spectacular crabapples is the old fashioned ‘Donald Wyman,’ but it’s a good guess. Pink flower buds open to stunning white blooms. Look closely and you’ll notice one of the hidden easter eggs in our landscape. These trees were planted in two clusters of 3 on either side of the pathway, but one of them on the north is not like the other five, probably a ‘Snowdrift,’ like the ones in the arts center parking lot. All crabapples look similar when young, so it was probably mislabeled. We’ve all been there.” (Credit: Paul Dahm )
“My not-so-secret goal for our landscape is to plant one of every type of Magnolia that will live this far north on campus somewhere. There are thousands of them; I’ve got a lot to go. Magnolia is an ancient family of plants with branches of the family in both the east and the west, having started their family in Pangaea and then branching out (pun intended) thanks to plate tectonics. Ultimate Yellow is a newer cultivar, and one of the later blooming ones as well.” (Credit: Paul Dahm )
“Drop everything and go smell these flowers. This one is in the front of Chateau; there are more in the Winter Garden of Axinn and the north side of McCullough. Seriously, go smell this. It’s what got me into landscaping. Complex but not cloying, it’s got tones of clove and winter spices but is bright and airy. This grows into a shrub about 8’ tall by 6’ wide. If you decide you need one for your yard (you will), find a well-drained location with all day sun.” (Credit: Paul Dahm )
“This special little tree is wildly underplanted and should be used more. The pale-yellow blooms align in a stunning pyramid shape on the ends of the branches, and each little flower in the cluster has a subtle orange red center. A fall bonus are the enormous seeds giving them the common name. They are about half the size of a golf ball, and fun to throw at your siblings.” (Credit: Paul Dahm )
“Crabapples, like Lilacs, suffer from one major flaw, that of blooming for far too short a time, sometimes only one short, glorious week. This cultivar of crabapple has become one of my favorites, not for the red blooms, but the stunning purple leaves all summer saving us from a myriad of interminable shades of green found across the landscape in the dog days of summer.” (Credit: Paul Dahm )