Monday, May 4, 2009

My Favorite Edible Flower Tree!

This is by far and away my favorite tree in the spring. The eastern redbud (Cercis canadenis) is a beautiful small tree in the landscape and it has a bonus, edible flowers. The tree is a member of the pea family, but the flowers taste like beans. The tree grows up to 25 feet in size. Very nice in a city landscape. Use it as an understory tree! This one is suffering from the full sun. Only half of this tree is blooming. It just keeps trying to thrive. The bottom picture is of a variety of redbud called 'Forest Pansy'. It has beautiful purple heart shaped leaves and magenta flowers in the spring. This one is thriving outside of The Rosemary House and Sweet Remembrances Tearoom in Mechanicsburg. Best scones and herbal bus trips ever! I first saw redbuds on a trip south to South Carolina. They are found growing out of limestone outcroppings in their native areas. Find a place for this special tree in your landscape!

4 comments:

Comfrey Cottages said...

you have just solved my dilemma, i think, nancy! my youngest son just got married and his bride and his front yard needs a tree. not a big one though. when i asked the bride her preference she just said she liked color. now myself, i would have leaned toward a nice apple tree, or maybe cherry. pretty flowers, not too large of trees, with the bonus of something edible about the tree. learning about the edible redbud has just cinched it for me. big bonus, brides favorite color is red! lol , i imagine the purpley color would be good for her also. neat post, thanks dear for sharing! big hugs :)

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

It is a beautiful tree and a nice wedding present. You're welcome.

Rosemary said...

Our Redbud is beautiful this time of year.... pretty pink blossoms combined with sweet reddish heart shaped leaves. The Boro made us trim the tree (!)... so it's not quite as glorious as your photo... but still beautiful. The thing about the Redbud, by mid-summer it will no longer have reddish leaves as they begin to change to green with each passing day. It is a fun tree, and would certainly be a perfect wedding gift - growing stronger as the young couples love grows and matures also.

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Thanks Rosemary for the additional info. Oh that Boro! Not always nice. I forgot that it loses its color in the leaves. Still a wonderful gift!