Garden fairies explain green Ginkgo leaves

Garden fairies here.

We are garden fairies and we are not tattle tales but we feel that certain events here need to brought to the forefront so they can be explained.

First and foremost at the forefront of our minds is how a certain group of garden fairies, who shall not be named because they are tree fairies, had a big ol' time a few weeks ago.

Now, we do not know what went on but we know

Paperbark Maple

I opened the blinds this morning and gasped with delight.

Wait, that's not quite what happened.

I opened the blinds this morning, jumped back in delight and stared in awe.

I'm not sure that's quite the way it happened, either.

I opened the blinds this morning and found myself staring at the fall color on the leaves of the paperbark maple, Acer griseum. A thousand memories of autumn flashed

Phytoncides

A shrub, not a tree. Callicarpa dichotoma 'Early Amethyst'

As I was mowing the lawn this evening, I imagined all the phytoncides I was breathing in and I was... delighted.

Phytoncides are "antimicrobial volatile organic compounds derived from trees".   They are good for you.  They are supposed to help improve your immune system and reduce stress.

What could be better?

In my garden, I also

Tree blooms and birds up close

Blooms of Catalpa speciosa

In other news of the garden this spring, I've noticed that the early bloom phenomenon continues.

Catalpa speciosa trees are blooming now with big, white ruffly blooms that are usually so high up from the ground that they just look like popcorn from afar.

But when you slow down to take a closer look, the catalpa blooms look rather exotic, like something from the

Maple Seed Test

What is the first thing you think of when you see all these seeds on a maple tree?

If you answered "there are many tree weedlings in your future", you may be a bit of a pessimist, or a perhaps a realist.

If you answered "those samaras are so interesting, I just love to see them twirl as the fly off in the wind", you may be a bit of an optimist or perhaps are choosing to ignore all the tree