Albizia julibrissin or more commonly the "Silk Tree".
Delicious pink & cream silky flowers
A long time favourite of mine & one of the (many) things I miss about having my own garden. A rather spindly looking sapling of this species was the first ever tree I planted in the first large garden I created.
I'd just finished laying a large cobblestone patio & had created some raised beds around it - in one corner, in view of the kitchen window, I planted a spindly specimen of Albizzia. In a few short years it grew to provide the most wonderful dappled shade over part of the patio.
I loved following the paths of the seasons through that tree, but the best part of all was always January & February when it flowered.
On Saturday while driving through the city I realised it was that time - so went home & grabbed my camera & took some photo's of a few that I could see from the street. No cloud & bright relentless sunshine did not make this an easy task.....
Delicious pink & cream silky flowersA long time favourite of mine & one of the (many) things I miss about having my own garden. A rather spindly looking sapling of this species was the first ever tree I planted in the first large garden I created.
I'd just finished laying a large cobblestone patio & had created some raised beds around it - in one corner, in view of the kitchen window, I planted a spindly specimen of Albizzia. In a few short years it grew to provide the most wonderful dappled shade over part of the patio.
I loved following the paths of the seasons through that tree, but the best part of all was always January & February when it flowered.
On Saturday while driving through the city I realised it was that time - so went home & grabbed my camera & took some photo's of a few that I could see from the street. No cloud & bright relentless sunshine did not make this an easy task.....
Planted close to a fence they will shoot mainly upwards
Left to do it's own thing.
Reaching skywards due to close tree neighbours
Perfect Umbrella shape when left with room to spread
Oh yeah - I remember sitting out there in the shade of one this shape with a nice Gin & Tonic , or wine in the evenings ;o)
I didn't even mind the clean up of the fallen flowers, & later in the season, the leaves.
I didn't even mind the clean up of the fallen flowers, & later in the season, the leaves.
4 comments:
Mimosa! Is it the same thing we call mimosa trees? Beautiful, fluffy pink. . .thanks for sharing the pictures of all the different ways it can grow, Deb. For some reason, when I see these, I always think of my Grandma who was from Georgia. My memories from early childhood are often collages of different times and places. When I see a mimosa, it takes me back to an early morning at my Grandma's ex-sister-in-law's house one summer. We'd taken Grandma to Georgia to visit family, and stayed at Cille's house so Grandma could visit with her. I could hear those two somewhere in the house talking when I heard Uncle Ralph (Grandma's brother and Cille's ex) calling to them from outside the window...and it was a good sound for a little kid to hear them all talking and getting along. I think there must have been mimosas in Cille's yard-- otherwise, I'm not real sure why mimosas make me think of that.
What a beautiful tree! I can see why you call it the natural umbrella! That would be a nice place to sit!
LOL - Ang. You've got me stumped.... so I looked up Mimosa...which seems to be a tree that grows mainly in South America with the northern most places it will grow being southern Mexico. I'd say this is probably is the same tree though...given a common name because of it's leaves, flowers & shapes similarity to the Mimosa tenuiflora.
I loved hearing your story of your memories....I adore the memories that certain plants can elicit.
Now all I have to figure is what the plant that had juicy fat seed pods that looked like peas was - they popped open when you just touched them. Haven't managed to discover what they were in over 30 years -lol!
Hey, Deb, remember I have the opposite of a green thumb? That means I also never learned many of the scientific names of plants/trees. I'll see if I can find you a link to what I'm talking about-- it can even be found as far north as Illinois and Kentucky so it might not even be related to the one that grows in Mexico.
That pea pod kinda plant sounds interesting...hope your mentioning it jogs someones memory!
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