Once again this month I am nowhere near my home in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, so I cannot report on my linden, the tree I am officially ‘following.’ But since I hate to miss a month of Lucy Corrander’s tree following meme, I am cheating this month and following the trees that I see around me as I visit the towns of Emilia-Romagna in italy.
Trees are blooming everywhere and from the trains between towns I can see blurs of white blossoms. In Ferrara, a small city that I like very much, I was able to stop and get close enough for photos of several different trees in bloom. I have nothing special to say about these trees, and only invite you to admire their blossoms along with me. I wish I could share the scents that perfumed the air — blissful in the extreme — but until someone invents a scent-sharing meme, you’ll simply have to imagine the sweetness.
Blooming most prolifically were the black locust trees. (That’s not a surprise. As anyone who lives in an area where they grow will know, they seed around so easily that some people consider them weeds.)
Black locust in bloom = heavy perfume.
A close-up of their blossoms shows yellow centres in pea-like clusters.
The botanical name is Robinia Pseudoacacia, or false acacia.
Blooming along with the locust trees were elders and mock orange, creating a world of white. In contrast was the red horse chestnut tree in full bloom in the square outside my hotel.
Aesculus x carnea is a hybrid between A. pavia (red buckeye) and A. hippocastanum (horse-chestnut). This may be the most common cultivar ‘Briotii.’
Do the colours attract the bees or is it the perfume? Or is it the combination? Whichever, the bees were loving the tree in the late afternoon sunshine.
I wasn’t the only one who liked this blossom.
The shape of this old Paulownia tree in Parco Massari caught my eye, as did the mossy trunk and the strange boll at the base.
Paulownia trees are sometimes called princess trees because they were named after Anna Paulowna, queen consort of The Netherlands and daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia.
The Paulownia blossoms showed up well against the green leaves behind them.
Clearly someone needs to prune this tree.
A close-up of the blossoms shows tubular blossoms that resemble those of a foxglove. (Is it ever called a foxglove tree?)
The wisteria for which Italy is so rightly known had finished for the year but I did find one lone blossom that remained in a shady spot.
It’s hard to beat purple blossoms against a background of green.
I’ll be back in Quebec in June and hope to have something interesting to share about my glorious linden tree. Until then, I’ll enjoy reading about yours.
