splendid trees

Fall is a wonderful time to plant trees. The earth is warm from the sun, a friendly situation for roots. The fall rain is about to come (they say), the rains will sink down to the roots and keep them hydrated as they work their way into the soil and become established and ready for the promise of sunshine in the spring and summer.

We like trees which offer a by-product of beauty. Here are some of our favorites.

Oriental Persimmon trees (Ebenaceae) offer deep green leathery leaves and green fruit adorned with a ruffly collar in the early fall. In another month or so, the fruits will grow, soften and turn a bright orange. The leaves will fall from the trees, leaving splendid stark, bare branches and an audacious show of colorful fruit against the cold, gray sky.

The fruit can be picked when they are still a little green and allowed to ripen indoors. When ripe, the meat is a luscious, complex flavored, bright orange pudding!

The trees can grow to be quite large (up to 30 feet) and are deserving of a prominent location, they provide a beautiful display year round.

Behind this beautiful hedge of hydrangeas is a gorgeous quince tree (Rosaceae) laden with furry fruit!

These beautiful, rock hard, quince offer a pleasing sweet, astringent fragrance. We love displaying them in bowls where they freshen the air and can be oooh’d and ahhh’d over.

When ripe, the sliced fruit is delicious preserved in a vanilla syrup, to be served over ice cream on a winters’ night. This recipe will be forthcoming.

We love the scent of a fig tree (Moraceae), planted outside a bedroom or bathroom window. When the summer sun beats down on these distinctive leaves and fruits, the fragrance that wafts into the house is simply dreamy.

In the fall the leaves drop, leaving the handsome gray branches covered with seductive fruits.

Figs are delicious straight from the tree. Their earthy flavor is enhanced when wrapped with a salty prosciutto. We love piling figs around a platter of charcuterie or a roast, some whole and some sliced open as an edible garnish.

Ahh, the Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera). These darlings are used for big, hearty hedges or are allowed to grow into large (up to 60 feet) leafy trees. These trees or bushes are as tough as the come. They tolerate poor soil, heat, cold, wind, drought (once established), and they transplant easily.

On top of all of that, when a male is present, the female plants produce these crazy, bright green inedible fruits in the fall.

They emit a fresh, astringent scent and look incredible piled up in porcelain bowls. Their bright green color and fresh scent can brighten even the darkest days of winter.