Mexican Plum
I don’t have the lilacs or apple trees of my childhood, the cherry blossoms or magnolias of my husband’s, but I’ve fallen in love with the diminutive and light-sweet greeting of Mexican plum flowers in the early spring.
{It wasn’t until I pulled this photo into Aperture that I even noticed the little bee hovering above the tiny blossoms.}
We were gifted with a baby planting when we bought our house seven years ago. It is rather slow-growing, even more so by the enormous canopy of pecan trees over its head. Last Fall (2010) we were at last rewarded with a tree full of plums. I’m guessing all those drenching spring rains encouraged this, because our pecans were also terribly prolific during fall and winter.
I loved this tree so much I planted another in the back. I know I planted it too close to our cherry laurel, but it will be a few years before they even start competing. Sigh, such is the nature of planting trees. You really, really have to think long-term. Unless of course a storm decides to come and knock down the six-branched chinaberry that was taking over the telephone wires. (Thank you, storm, for giving us the chance at a free city tree removal!)
Here is a mature tree in front of a neighbor’s house. I love the form it takes at this size, so light and yet very strong parallel upward branches.
This spring (2011) was not a good year for plum blossoms. Almost everything bloomed later on schedule due to the bizarre ice freezes of February, then dropped what few flowers they had in the lack of rain. It’s almost as if we’ve skipped spring altogether.
Then there are my beloved sweet peas, which have a couple of raised beds all to themselves. Even though they are short-lived in early spring, my garden wouldn’t be complete without their fragrance at least once a year.
