Trees in Winter

Many people think of deciduous trees (those that drop leaves or needles during autumn and winter months) as cold, barren, and uninteresting. I disagree. In fact, I rather enjoy studying their framework against the landscape. I thought it would be nice to share with you some of the trees on my property during their dormant period. These photos were taken yesterday. What a gorgeous day it was!

This is a small grove of Bald Cypress trees.

Here is a grouping of weeping willows:

You can see how they glow, in January, in the landscape:

This is an American beech. Beech trees love to retain their leaves even during the coldest months. As they mature, their leaves will drop more.

A weeping copper beech -- kind of eerie:

My allee of linden trees. These are thin-skinned trees, and their trunks have been wrapped to protect them from frost and sunburn.

This is a weeping cherry. You can really see why it's called "weeping":

This row of trees was here on the property when I bought it. They are rather ancient apple trees that we have been reviving after many years of neglect. They look great, don't they?

 

Comments

[Joy Holloway]

Your trees are just beautiful I love weeping trees I planted my weeping cherry trees 4 years ago here at my home in Iowa and they are looking really good not as good as the ones I had when I lived in the south of mississippi but still they are pretty cute

[Kathy]

Martha,
Thanks for showing yesterday's photographs of your deciduous trees. I agree with you. I like to see such trees in the winter. Their structure against the horizon is interesting to me. I was happy to learn about the dawn redwood. Seeing your trees reminded me of planting trees with my father when I was younger: a redbud, a tulip tree, a blue spruce, an ash, and a linden tree closer to our house and different kinds of fir trees farther away.
Kathy

[PAULINE MUCCIACCIO]

Hi Martha,
As you I enjoy looking at the strutures of trees after they have shed their leaves. The other day I was looking at a few trees & saw two nicely construted birds nests. Before I read the caption over the weeping beech tree I had the same impression. This past year I had a Chinese Flowering Cherry Tree planted through the program offered by the city of NY. It wonderful to see the transformation from the bud setting stage , to leafing out, to the color change & dropping of the leaves in the fall. Since there aren't many trees here in Brooklyn, we use to take our kids every fall up to Vermont to see the fall foliage. In the winter when the trees are covered in a dusting of snow or encased in a thin layer of ice glistening in the sunlight their exceptionally beautiful!
Best,
Pauline Mucciaccio

[Kathy]

Your Chinese Flowering Cherry and the trees in Vermont you took your family to see sound just as beautiful as those Martha has shown us, Pauline!
Kathy

[Trish]

I wish we had just a few of the trees you have! We lost 2 palm trees and an orange tree in recent hurricanes and we had to have a mahogany tree cut down due to it's proximity to the pool. We now have only a ponytail palm and two small palms in pots on the patio. Pathetic! You have inspired me to plant more trees and I'll try not to worry about hurricane damage! Trish

[PAULINE MUCCIACCIO]

Hi Kathy,
Glad you enjoyed reminiscing with me about my tree observations..sounds like you enjoy the beauty of trees also!
Pauline

[Nancy Holwerda]

Thank you for your photos of your
decidous trees. You are right as
to the beauty of the trees without
their leaves, especially when the
ground is covered with snow. We
have a thirty-two old Metasequioa
behind our home in Michigan. When
we purchased it was tagged as a miniature Sequoia so we planted close to the house for shade. We soon found out it was not a miniature since it grew quite a
bit higher than expected. It is now approximately 55-60 feet and
an absolutely magnificent looking
tree. Probably has the 25 foot spread already. All the needles
turn a beautiful copper color in the fall and it has been producing the pine cones...which are tiny for several years. When you see this majestic tree rising above the roof of our home-which is dark brown with a brown roof it is a "Good Thing". I have seen the miniature ones and they are just as beautiful only on a much smaller scale. We are very pleased with our special tree. Our son always thought it grew so well since he would put the water from his aquarium on it at first.
We have seen these trees only at three other locations, so when you hear about one it is very exciting. Thank you for keeping the days interesting with all the information you share. NH

[Michele Andrade]

What wonderful pictures of winter trees! I especially love the landscape picture where the trees glow. I like wintry trees with snow on them. Makes them sparkle and is so beautiful. I take photographs of those and sometimes make a scrapbook layout of those photos.

[Margie]

Thanks so much for the picture tour of some gorgeous trees. A seminar regard growing Bonsai trees will immediately open one's eyes to core tree beauty.
To see a tree without it's leaves is to immediately fall in love with it.

[Kathy]

Yes, Pauline!

Kathy

[Joan Fluor Mason, OH]

Hi Martha,

Thanks again for the beautiful and interesting blog about the trees on your property.

I live about 25 miles north of Cincinnati, OH and there are many birch trees in the area, I think the tree without the leaves are beautiful. The white trunk and limbs stand out amongst the other trees.

Love your blog, the first thing I do in the morning is get a cup of coffee and see what you have on the blog for that day. You are an inspiration to all of us.

[Kathy]

Martha,
A wonderful show! I made the tomato soup and goat cheese spread on toasted bread for lunch today. It was delicious.
I will try to grow some begonia cuttings next spring. I haven't tried it before. Thanks for all the ideas.
Kathy

[Jan Erickson]

Hi Martha, I love all subjects that you post on your blog. I especially love the ones about all varieties of trees and anything to do with wood. I had no idea there were other varieties of weeping trees. The information about the dawn redwood was absolutely facinating. In the wintertime, I love the deciduous trees that block my view of Puget Sound because it opens up my wonderful view. I would never ask others to cut them down because they block my view. I've learned to live with what I have. Thanks for sharing. Jan

[Andrew Ritchie]

Wow! You've had hardly any snow! Just a few hundred miles north, in Canada, we're burried in it.

I love it when the bare branches of deciduous trees are lined with a trace of snow.

The bare branches of oak trees, I find, are especially ornate and fabulous against a clear or cloudy sky.

I love your allee of lindens!

-Andrew

[Debbie]

Martha

I absolutely love your blog. Thank you for doing it! It is such fun to see a little part of your day.

Debbie

[Gail Colwell]

how do I leave a comment for body&soul

[bpfster]

I have a weeping cherry tree in my front yard and I think it looks lovely all year round. The hubby and I wore driving around the other day and looking at all the trees with the frost and ice on their branches. They are really beautiful and interesting.

[Ryan Field]

Very beautiful photos of the trees. I like to watch the barren trees on my property to plan what's next for spring and summer. It's as though I'm starting from a clean slate.

[Ashley]

Martha,
You have some beautiful trees on your property. It is amazing how trees change with the seasons and through the years. My husband and I would love to line our driveway with beautiful trees when we build a house. We are just not sure what type of tree to use and how big of trees to start with. At first we thought Weeping Willow.. but I do not want the trees to grow over the driveway. Any thoughts?

[Robin Holtson]

Hi, Martha:
I love how the wind has sculpted those "ancient apple trees". Nature is the best artist of all.
Your view on the world is "a good thing".

[Linda Gail]

Thanks for the beautiful pictures of the trees. They help brighten an otherwise dreary winter day. I really like the "eerie" weeping birch. It looks like the cranky old man at the end of the street in everyones dreams.

[junebug]

It is so cool that you have a blog!

[~Nancy~]

Hi Martha,
I was so happy to find your blog. I love your show and never miss it and now I can read your words and look at your photos as well. The trees are one of my favorites. I love the way their bones show in the winter.
Just wanted to say hello and thanks for the loveliness you share.

[Linda]

Hi Martha, The gentleman Chhiring in your blog, is Sherpa his last name and also his occupation? Your property is breathtaking even in the winter. Sincerely Linda

[Sally Revell]

Dear Martha, I had an apple tree which was suppose to be a Granny Smith, but in 2006 the first year it bore it had green apples touched with pink about the size of a soft ball. When the apples were peeled and cooked they turned to apple sauce. No further treatment was required. They did not hold their shape. Last April 17th we had a hard freeze here in Missouri after all the fruit trees were in bloom. It killed 15 apple trees for me, and this was one of them. I want another tree like that. I canned 20 qts of apple sauce and so easy.
I have called nurseries and no one can tell me the type. Can you?
Thanks=Sally

[Lin Shaw]

I loved hearing about your forman and his family. The trees are beautiful and very interesting in each of the seasons.

[Monica]

Saw this on the way to work...

Relief: What trees do in the spring!

[Kristen Souvorin]

Thank you for sharing those great photos. I, too, love bare trees. I have a favorite one on the top of Vail mountain. It is best in the spring, you should come and check it out if you are ever in the area.

[Terre]

On todays show 1-25-2008 I was watching the tip on preserving brown sugar. I have a great tip! Keep brown sugar in a zip top baggie & keep in the drawer of your refridgerator. It will never harden!

[Liz Ness]

I found your blog by way of your website. What a fantastic blog you have here! What a fantastic home (love your photos of your trees -- so beautiful)! I, too, enjoy winter trees -- especially, against a crisp blue sky!

Thanks for sharing bits and pieces of yourself, Martha, through this wonderful blog!

[Cheryl Ry]

Hi Martha, I have been watching your show each day with a friend that is 90 years old. She never misses your show. I want to thank you for the photographs of the trees. I was especially interested in the ancient apple trees and their unusual shape. They remind me of the divi divi trees on the island of Aruba. Their unusual shape is from the strong winds that blow over the island. Your apple trees are obviously shaped by strong winds also. Thanks and keep up the interesting shows. Cheryl

[Marilyn Smith]

Hi, Martha

Thank you for sharing your photos. I live in a small town in Indiana. Among the many trees on the property, we have three very large oak trees. Two of them measure 12 feet in circumference at shoulder height and 14 feet in circumference nearer the base. I don't know how old they would be, but I would imagine they are over a hundred years old. Trees are so interesting because there are no two alike. They withstand the storms of life because they have learned to bend. Each season brings new delight. Buds and flowering blossoms in spring. Cool relief for summer. Magnificent displays of color in autumn. Winter is a magical time to see them covered with a layer of snow or ice.

Marilyn

[Jewel]

Each Season has something nice to offer and during the Winter a tree sleeping (no leaves) has such a beautiful contrast with snow. It's also fun to see when the days become longer and the bark takes on a different brown, somewhat like the "glow" you mentioned. Seeing the color in the bark and branches liven up I know that Spring is coming soon. Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square PA is a great place to visit and see lots of framework.

[Lynn Ferguson-Rich]

Hi Martha,
I so enjoyed looking through the photos from your trip to Japan. For years my friends have given me a hard time for insisting on photographing our plates before we eat. Finally, they see the virtue of this culinary documentation and we enjoy the memories of a trip that a meal can resurrect. I would love if in the future we have the capability to somehow capture smell along with these visual images of special meals, really engaging the transporting power of smell & sight. Your food photos were great.

[Chris]

I also love trees in winter. Thanks for sharing. When we moved three years ago we brought mature Japanese Maples(16!), a Parrotia persica, Oxydendron, Stewartia p.,Cotinus, and some small evergreens. We moved these, planting in December and January, before we moved our other posessions. Our new neighbors probably thought we were weird. We are. We are obsessive gardeners. We just bought 2 espaliered fruit trees: one is a 4-way Asian Pear, the other is a 3-way Apple. Now we are pruning grapes and other things as weather permits. Thank you for inspiring us.

[Janet]

I recently moved to northern California from the desert and I love the many deciduous tree heres (although, admittedly, I just learned that term here). There is a gathering of trees just outside my living room window and I think they are so beautiful--bald and all!

Love the blog!

[MARCELA]

Hi Marta, I love the trees in the winter, look my trees.

Con mucho cariño desde el sur del mundo!!!!

Marcela

[MARCELA]

Hi Martha, congratulation! beatitul trees.

[Bonnie Feldstein]

Hi Martha,

Thanks for sharing the pictures of your beautiful home and your gorgeous animals.
I am recently retired so I now have the time to enjoy all your shows.

[Kathleen]

Hi Martha,

Your trees are magnificent! Thank you for planting them and sharing their photos. You are inspiring!

I am blessed to have three acres in Pennsylvania and am slowly planting them with trees and gardens. I too love the Dawn Redwood. I planted one which I love so much I named her Beauty. She is almost 20 feet tall and I have her surrounded with netting to protect her from deer during the winter.

Most recently I put in an allee of Serviceberry Trees for the birds. What a joy! The allee will eventually lead to a labyrinth. I need another two years to finish that project! So much to do! Life is good!

I look forward to seeing more of your trees, gardens and property in the future.

Again, thank you for the inspiration! I LOVE your blog!!!

Kathleen

[Joy Wang]

Dear Martha,

I recently started watching your TV shows. They are very warming, and pleasing to watch. I just browse your blogs and the pictures in your blogs. I must say you also have a precise writing style, and choosing the exact words along with the subjects is impeccable. Browsing the pictures, I seem to have a glimpse of the reflection of our lives.

Joy Wang

[patricia smith]

Martha: I too, love trees in winter. We have beautiful sycamores here in N. C. Their white bark is just lovely. I have a weeping cherry that's 30yrs. old in my front yard. Also discovered a horse chestnut growing back that we thought hurricane Isabel had destroyed. I like trees and shrubs better than flowers.
Going to start a cacti garden this summer. Any suggestions? Can't believe all of the snow you had. We rarely have any. Later - PMSmith