Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

This post is in honor of GBBD hosted by Carol of http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/">May Dreams Garden. These are blooms on the bigger plants and trees in our garden. Last year, all these bloomed in early-April as 2011-2012 was one of the hottest year. This year, perhaps, everything is normal as this part of New Jersey continues to have frost until the late May. 

The dogwood in bloom; close-up of the blooms.

A small shrub of azalea; the blooms in close-up. This shrub remains a small shrub only about two feet tall with about three feet spread.

This is a big azalea tree. The whole tree is becoming like that. If you ask me about the size of the tree, I might have to say that it is 7 to 10 feet. Close-up of the blooms

>

A kind of rhododendron tree; close-up of one of the bloom on the tree.

Another kind of azalea tree. This is also a big tree. The blooms are of deep-red (or may be very dark pink). Close-up of the bloom.

Close-up of the bloom of Persian-Lilac tree. The whole tree gets covered with big clusters of bloom like this. And the fragrance is heavenly, out of this world. The whole yard, place around it for many, many feet will be drenched in this sweet aroma for everyone to drink it and lose sense. But, this is a very invasive species. You plant one tree, forget about it, and come back a year later; the whole place will be covered with this tree. The second picture is the blooms on one of my blueberry-plant. The third picture is the bloom on beach-plum, a native plant/bush/shrub. The plum can be eaten by humans. If left on the tree, they will become one of the essential food for many of the native songbirds.

I appreciate the blooms of these trees because their beauties are of such fleeting nature. They will bloom for a short period during the early spring; rest of the year, they will be standing in a jungle of trees, favorite place for all sorts of birds to hang around. Looking at them at such time no one will be able to tell about the ephemeral beauty pageant they put up during the early spring of every year. I think I have come to appreciate nature, enjoy all these beauties and savor in the harvest because I do not get these all year round. If I were living in a tropical climate where some kind of fruits, vegetables and flowers can be grown throughout the year, I might not have appreciated nature, observed and learned it or waited eagerly for spring. This is the best time of the year as I wait enthusiastically for all the bounties to come, for all the secrets that my garden is going to reveal. This waiting is the best experience because once it comes, it goes away pretty fast; just like waiting for any festival is all the fun because once it is there, it is over in a blink of an eye. What do you think?

I also could not lose this opportunity about this post on Wisteria garden in Japan. Apparently there is a garden in Japan where about 10,000 square feet is dedicated to all sorts of wisteria. Here is the link with the pictures and the video. Click on link or click here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2324253/Flowers-world-Enchanting-wisteria-vines-Japan-real-life-version-blockbuster-Avatars-Tree-Souls.html

I have never been to that garden; so I don't know how it will feel when I see it face to face. But, seeing the pictures or the video, I am not feeling much interested; it's not appealing to me that much because it looks very artificial with all those artificial support; also, simply too many people. I like the look of everything natural with calm, quiteness around it; and not that many people. How about you?

Happy Arbor Day

Today, April 26, is Arbor Day in NJ. Every year about 60,000 square kilometers (about 14, 826.3 acres) of  forest are destroyed. So, arbor days are celebrated across the USA and even in other countries to raise awareness about conservation and reforestation. Over ten million trees are planted on every arbor day. I didn't have any trees to plant; but luck struck me and my order of five blueberry plants arrived today. Now, you might say that blueberry plants are not trees but I will beg to differ :-). First of all, blueberries are native plants. Secondly, they are excellent source of food for wildlife (I will be competing fiercely with infinite numbers of squirrels, birds, groundhogs, deer, rabbits, raccoon that exist here). Except one, all my five blueberry plants will grow to about six feet in height and will form bushes. So, they will provide a little shelter, places to play around, sit, sing and fly away for birds. Thus, I declare my blueberry plants as trees :-).

Here are the varieties that I received:

Blueray: very sweet, light blue fruits resist cracking. Ripen in July and the harvest goes on for weeks. Plant with at least two other blueberry varieties to ensure adequate cross-pollination. The 5-6' tall bushes become a blaze of crimson in the fall, so they are ideal arranged as an informal hedge.

Blueberry Top Hat: Hats off to a perfectly delectable and beauteous blueberry. Give this ornamental blueberry a prime spot on your patio. Come spring it produces beautiful white blossoms; in fall, the foliage turns a pretty glowing orange. Top Hat is a compact 2-ft plant that produces firm, dusky blue fruit that ripens in late season and is ideal for baking.

Herbert: Blueberries in abundance! Herbert produces a profusion of jumbo-sized fruits with a rich, sweet, slightly tart flavor; it's a late-season variety and very winter hardy.

Coville: Coville produces high yields of large, sweet berries and has good disease resistance. Blueberry plants require pollination from at least one other blueberry variety; plant several varieties for improved fruit set and long harvest. Blueberry is a native shrub that was utilized by Native Americans. Growing 5-6', their productive season is July-August, but they also enliven the garden with blazing crimson foliage in fall.

Bluejay: This native American variety ripens in July and yields heavily for weeks. Plant with at least two other blueberry varieties to ensure adequate cross-pollination. The 5-6' tall bushes become a blaze of crimson in the fall, so they are ideal arranged as an informal hedge. You'll have fresh blueberries for pies and preserves for many, many years.

Apparently, these are good blueberries to plant in NJ. But time will only tell that. I already had a blueberry plant in the garden. So, all total six blueberry plants. I am so fond of this fruit that if I am successful with these plants, then I hope to plant a hedge of blueberries in the front yard. Do you have blueberries in your garden? Do you do anything special on arbor day?