Our sorbus / mountain ash trees were heavily laden with berries in autumn 2013 as a consequence of the very late arriving cold spring ealier in the year. The late arriving flowers of many trees and bushes in our garden were undamaged and fruited well because they had escaped all the air frosts. In consequence there has been a glut of autumn berries for us, our garden visitors and wildlife visitors, to enjoy! This upright, relatively small Chinese rowan is one of the delightful sorbus trees in our garden. It has attractive light green pinnate leaves and clusters of pretty white flowers in spring. The leaves turn orange, red and purple in autumn, contrasting with the light yellow berries. Despite being very much enjoyed by blackbirds and visiting woodpigeons, surprisingly the berries usually last until well after the leaves have fallen.

Common name: Cut Leaved Common Alder tree. Height and spread in 20 years: 6 x 4 meters. Seasons of interest: Spring, Summer, Autumn. Foliage: Grey-green feathery foliage, yellow in Autumn. Soil: Tolerant of most soil types including wet sites. Position: Tolerates exposure and air pollution.

How to set up and decorate a buffet table / food station for parties and celebrations, with food, presentation, and styling tips by a professional party planner

Fast growing, easy care trees. They'll grow anywhere, but do best in a dampness like at the edge of the berm here, where puddles accumulate when it rains. 5/13/15 I planted several river birches each year starting in spring 2007. I got some from Forestfarm, a bare root one from Arborday, a five gallon container tree from Lexington Gardens and one from Lowe's. Most are probably 'Heritage', except for the one on the right side of the berm -- its bark is noticeably different -- shaggy but not as colorful, and it is probably the straight species. 11/12/2010 just four years after I planted a 10 inch twig! All have grown immensely fast; the bare root twig on the berm went from a tiny stick to a beautiful multi trunk specimen in four years as seen above. That spot gets quite a bit of pooled water at the edge of the berm when it rains, and the river birch here has grown the fastest, but they are all quick growers. They are late to leaf out in spring. Fall color on all of them is a nice yellow. The bark, even in the first few years is peeling and pinkish. 7/14/11 the bareroot twig from Arborday, after 5 years They are graceful and kind of open, giving a real "woodland" look to plantings. They can be messy and rangy, and I have had to prune them for shape and size many times each season. Don't prune in spring when the sap is running. They don't get leaf spot like the white paper birches do. River birches really are water lovers as the name says. In spring they put out a lot of leaves, and then in summer they will start to drop them and turn yellow. The trees are fine, it just looks drought stressed at times. The river birches on the berm have gotten larger than the spruces and are crowding them. When the river birches have no leaves in winter and early spring, the architectural look and peeling bark are nice against the evergreens, but in summer it's clear they are too big for the space. What to do . . . Somehow they have an elegant shape while being messy, shaggy barked, twiggy trees. 9/24/14 Two of the spruces on the berm were taken out at the end of 2014, and the area is open now. in 2015. The river birch is no longer crowded. I limbed it up quite a bit. 5/13/15 The bark really is amazing.

Retour en images sur l’Eropéan Bonsaï San Swow de Saulieu. Quel bon week-end nous venons de passer les amis ! Une expo au bon gout de bonsaï, qui va marquer durablement nos souvenir d’amateur de petit arbres… Au delà d’une bonne organisation, et fort de l’expérience des 2 premières éditions à Saulieu, il fallait en plus le carnet d’adresse de Fred Chenal, pour réunir une telle concentration de talent sous le même toit. Tous ceux qui s’y sont rendus, s’accordent à dire que rarement en France une expo de cette qualité n’avait été présenté. Je fais partie de ceux là. Certains ont comparé l’European Bonsaï San Show au Noelandres Trophée. On reconnaitra que cette première édition à mis la barre aussi haut qu’en Belgique. La comparaison véritable se validera selon moi sur la durée. Qui avait t-il à découvrir ? Une centaine d’arbres, sélectionnés parmi les plus beaux d’Europe, entourant magistralement 8 Tokonoma garnis des Master Pièces du belge Danny Use et de l’italien Mauro Stemberger. (Tous deux invités d’honneur) Un marché d’une vingtaine de professionnels (pas moins) complétait la périphérie du Centre de congrès de Saulieu. A cela, une douzaine de démonstrateurs parmi les meilleurs talents d’Europe ont parfait le plaisir de se retrouver entre bonsaïka durant ces 2 jours intenses. Un évènement de haut niveau, à qui l’on souhaite vivement de devenir l’incontournable calendrier automnal, du bonsaï Français. www.european-bonsai-san-show.com Comme toujours, je n’ai pas résisté au plaisir de faire quelques images. Je vous en jette quelques unes en vrac sans plus de commentaires.

The 28-year-old actress daughter of Genesis rocker Phil Collins revealed that playing an anorexic in To The Bone opposite Keanu Reeves helped her see her own former food issues in a new light.

Stacie and Phil were married between the two apple trees in the garden at Old Edwards Inn. Their classic fall wedding will wow you.

includes "hanging-loops" for easy wall hanging photo-quality printed on super-soft, fade resistant durable fabric machine washable and dryer safe 30%-of-profit goes directly to visionary artist Phil Lewis

Ultimamente anche gli adulti si sono messi a costruire case sugli alberi: che sia per cercare un po' di solitudine o per sfidare le leggi dell'architettura, alcune di queste case sono vere e proprie opere d'arte.

I have a lot of people in my family that are avid golfers and as you know I love to give a homemade ornament every year from my kids. So aft...

Taking place at a barn wedding venue in Florida, Shannon and Kevin planned a beautiful country wedding with DIY details and rustic charm. From the photographer: Shannon and Kevin had a perfectly rustic wedding in the country, complete with many details that Shannon actually made herself. From most of the jewelry worn throughout the day, to the invites, and a ton of the decor (including those adorable little favors) Shannon majorly outdid herself on the DIY front! Thanks to photographers, Sarah & Ben for sharing this wonderful wedding with us. Sources – photography: Sarah & Ben / venue: S Bar S Barn, a Florida wedding venue / floral design: Taylormade Wedding and Event Flowers / video: Motion Video / cake design: Karen’s Cakes / music: Graingertainment

Thanks to the popularity of my first two posts in this series, Five Life-Enhancing French Habits to Adopt Today and Three More French Habits to Enhance Your Life I've come up with some further things I was first exposed to during my many years living in France and whic

I absolutely love this idea. A few years ago when I was buying my Christmas tree I noticed that they throw away all the ends of the trees...