Guest Blog Post by: Carol Michel

It doesn’t take much warmth and sun to perk up the trees and shrubs that were shivering in the cold last week. And the gardener around here (me) likes the warmer days better, too.

This is one of those trees and shrubs, my crab apple tree, ‘Guinevere’, attempting to bloom Thursday (April 19th).

Because it was so warm in late March, I thought this tree was going to bloom about two weeks earlier than usual, but instead all the buds literally froze in the cold and the new leaves drooped. It was a sad sight, because I know what might have been. The picture below was taken exactly one year earlier on April 19, 2006.

I did not take a picture of the full tree this year because ‘Guinevere’ is a proud tree and wouldn’t really want her current bedraggled appearance published for all to see. Instead we can remember her beauty from last year and hope for next year.

What I like about ‘Guinevere’ is that the buds start out pink and then as they open, the flowers turn almost white. And where the branches were grafted on, there’s a cozy little place perfect for a bird’s nest, but I’ve only seen a nest there once, a few years ago. This tree is one of my garden favorites!

‘Guinevere’ sits in the middle of the front flower bed that is now under renovation and needs to be surrounded with just the right flowers for early spring, mid spring, and summer blooms to enhance her beauty. I’ve got my work cut out for me both in deciding what to plant and then in actually finding those plants and planting them.

I am quite open to suggestions and others’ ideas so feel free to suggest what you think should be planted with ‘Guinevere’.

Blog post courtesy of Carol Michel, May Dreams Gardens