The Grandpa Tree

This wonderful little tree has popped up in this blog before – more than once, in fact – and so I suppose I should admit that I have a distinct fondness for this little crabapple tree that sits in my parents' back yard, overlooking a corner of the deck. We call it the Grandpa Tree, because it was planted in honor and in memory of my mom's father. Every time I venture home it provides new smiles and photos. This past weekend the berries were glistening in the sun and looked particularly perfect. Enjoy!

Tree of the day - stunning silhouette

I love this tree. I took the photo about a month ago in Prospect Park. Glorious tree, no?

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

The holiday season is a time when you may hear an awful lot of singing about Pear Trees. With Partridges in them. I don't know why. There are conflicting stories about the origins of the Twelve Days of Christmas, and I don't want to join the debate.

But I do want to share my discovery of an espaliered Pear tree that lives in the glorious Cloisters in Manhattan. What, you may ask, is an espaliered tree? Well, I've just now learned that to espalier is to train a tree (generally a fruit tree, it seems) to grow in a pattern or shape, flat against a wall or lattice. A 2-D tree! Basically this might be perfect for my future Brooklyn garden. But it also seems to have been rather popular in medieval times. In any case, the Cloisters is a wonderful secret haven in northern Manhattan that is a home to amazing medieval European art and architecture. And trees. The gardens are not particularly big, but they are immensely charming and satisfying. And peaceful. Oh, to be a monk. And there are pear trees. Also, you can follow the Cloisters Garden blog here.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all! I have been enjoying the various trees of the season - mostly Christmas trees, of course - but the storm that rolled through last weekend blanketed the neighborhood trees in delightful piles of snow. For now...may you all take as much pleasure in my miniature apartment Christmas tree as I do. It has brought many smiles to my face so far this December...

:)

Ultimate Field Guide to the Trees of the Big Apple

For a tree-lover and blogger-of-trees, I certainly don't know many scientific tree facts, nor do I know how to identify most trees. Thus, I picked up "New York City Trees, A Field Guide for the Metropolitan Area" at the Brooklyn Book Festival in September. I'm super excited about it. The cover promises "How to identify trees;" "Best places to see trees;" "Official NYC Great Trees;" and "Ten tree walks." I can't wait to walk all ten.

In other news: the Christmas tree lady arrived this week with her trees from Canada, and has parked herself, as usual, in front of the neighborhood Key Food. I love walking slowly by and breathing in the piney-wonderful air. It's holiday season!