January 24, 2022
By Sarah Fry
Spring
The dark and rainy Portland winters have us yearning for the riotous colors of spring blooms by late winter. You don’t need to wait until March or April. Forcing blooms on cut tree branches is an easy way to enjoy early spring color indoors. Simply select the right branches, keep them in fresh water, and watch your flowers bloom. Select... Read More
Spring in the Willamette Valley is heralded by the awakening of trees seen as bright green growth, showy flowers, and prodigious amounts of billowing tree pollen. Some days the pollen is so thick that every horizontal outdoor surface in the Portland area is coated with the powdery substance. Although it can be a nuisance to those with seasonal allergies, pollen... Read More
Even though Portland area skies are still cold, wet and grey, it won’t be long before we see signs of spring in the trees. Once trees break dormancy and cellular activity restarts, we can see flower buds swell and color, and tiny new leaves emerge from swollen leaf buds in deciduous trees. Bright green needles emerge from the tips of... Read More
Against the grey spring Portland sky, flowering cherry trees explode with blooms in a breathtaking spring spectacle. The fluttering petals, bright white and pink colors, and frilly textures of the flowering cherry are noticed from a distance against the stark backdrop of mostly bare deciduous trees and dark green evergreens. All across the Portland area, flowering cherry trees bloom in... Read More
Located just minutes from downtown Portland near Reed College, the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden is a riot of color in the spring. The botanical garden has over nine acres of spectacular specimens of rhododendron and azalea planted alongside Crystal Springs Lake, which is fed by the property’s natural springs. The meandering paths that take you across bridges and alongside waterfalls... Read More
Spring in the Portland area is accented with explosions of color on flowering trees and shrubs such as the flowering cherry, flowering plum, magnolia, and camellia. These tell-tale signs of spring are not only beautiful, they function as the crucial reproductive system of the flowering plants (angiosperms). In angiosperm reproduction, pollen is produced by the male organ and is transferred... Read More
Oregon celebrates the beauty and benefits of trees for the first full week of April every year. Our local communities show their tree appreciation through activities geared for the whole family. A select few are listed below. How will you celebrate the trees in your community? Beaverton will host an Arbor Day tree planting on April 6th. Lake Oswego celebrates... Read More
National Arbor Day is celebrated throughout the country on the last Friday in April as a way to recognize the beauty and benefits of trees in our communities. In Oregon, we love trees so much, that we have committed the entire first week of April to tree celebration! From art contests to nature walks to nature crafting, local communities engage... Read More
After a long, dark winter, the swelling buds on bare branches foretell the coming of an eagerly anticipated spring for many Portland area residents. A bud is an undeveloped part of the plant. Flower buds become blossoms, whereas growth buds develop into shoots. Growth buds are the teardrop-shaped parts of the tree where new growth occurs. A branch grows longer... Read More
