Saturday, November 15, 2008


About 15 years ago Rosemary had her heart set for obtaining a Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy'. This tree, commonly called the Eastern Redbud grows very well in Ontario. I likes an intense hot summer and a cold but dry winter. There were then few (and even now) specimens of the tree in BC and in Vancouver. They don't like our rainy winters and the short hot summers. We planted one anyway in a secluded area of our back garden. The tree fluorished and grew rapidly delighting us with the red/purple buds in spring before any leaves appeared. The tree is a wonder to behold in the summer when the reddish/green leaves shine when the sun acts as a backlight. The sight of the fallen leaves in the fall with their intense yellow and red further attached us to our tree. A severe windstorm three years ago tore down our white picket fence and several trees almost went down. One of them was a juniper that was leaning precariously in the direction of our living room. There was no way of propping it up with cables as the cables would have been on the street side. Our Cercis went to the ground and Rosemary was in tears. We called the folks at Bartlett Tree Service and they streightened the tree and secured it with a cable. We then hoped for the best. Three years later our Cercis is doing well and Rosemary smiles when she looks out of the window.

A week ago we were admiring our tall Ginkgo biloba . It leaves were a golden yellow. I told myself I need to photograph the tree. Alas! That evening there was a windstorm and the next day the tree was all but bare!



Today when Rosemary and I went to vote for the municipal elections I noticed a rose in bloom in the front garden. Considering the date and the wet weather is is most unusual to see a rose in bloom that is a multiple-petaled English Rose. But then its name 'Immortal Juno' might just be significant. Juno was Zeus's wife. Greek goddesses in spite of their human traits were indeed immortal.

After I scanned the cercis and the ginkgo leaves. After I scanned Immortal Juno I had the unusual pleasure of smelling spring in November. The intense myrrh scent nudged my brain's sensory perception. Could spring be just around the corner in fall?